Kat like Thief
by Macy King
Summary: Son of famous war hero Commander Shepard and the biotic Jack, Thane Shepard has a lot to live up to. This is a coming of age drama/romance focusing on Thane as he attends a new biotic academy. Rated T for language and adult themes. Updates to come, mushy
1. Chapter 1: Prolouge

_Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of Bioware. Both Commander Shepard and Jack belong to Bioware_

_I am releasing the first three chapters at once because the first two set up the background and characters/setting respectively. The third is where I would consider the meat of the story to start._

_This is my first fan fiction, and my first piece of extended writing ever so feedback and reviews would be very welcome :)_

_Update: thank you to KenTatsujin for finding my slip up, corrected it now._

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**Chapter 1: Prologue**

The young Thane Shepard stood hand in hand between his father, the famous war hero Commander John Shepard and his mother, the biotic powerhouse know only as Jack. Being only ten years old, Thane didn't fully understand why he was dragged out of the house at 8am to stand in a hall surrounded by adults but he knew that he didn't like it. He just wanted to go home and play with his Blasto action figure. Thane was a shy boy with few friends and he found solace in re-enacting the action packed shows he watched. He had jet black, scruffy hair that just about covered his ears. He wore simple civilian clothes with the exception of a dark purple hoodie with "Shepard" emblazoned on the back in light grey lettering. His brown eyes matched his mother's yet they had a glint of his father's courage hidden behind them. He stared upwards, a look of boredom and confusion on his face as he prodded his father for attention.

The fabled commander bore the scars and marks of the war he had fought in and, against all odds, won against the reapers. Every sentient being knew what Shepard had gone through, they knew the sacrifices he had made and the pain he had brought upon himself to banish the vile creatures from the face of the universe. The N7 armour he wore was battered and bruised much like its wearer but had clearly been cleaned and buffed for the occasion. Jack on the other hand had perfect skin, if you ignored the wealth of tattoos covering her entire body that is. The ex-convict was infamous across the galaxy for a list of crimes the stretched further than most children could count, but she was equally as well known for being the strongest human biotic ever. Her head was shaved apart from a thick faux hawk down the centre of her scalp, which ended in a flowing black ponytail. A few strands of hair had escaped the ponytail and were hanging loose across her face. Beauty resonated from her, even past the tattoos and shaved head she couldn't hide her perfect bone structure, full lips and glorious eyes that could swallow a person whole. She wore a studded leather jacket over a plain white tank top that left little to the imagination, she didn't see the need to dress any differently for a special occasion like her other half. The commander beamed a smile down at Thane and motioned towards the stage.

"Thane you don't want to miss this, it's not often you get to see a person graduate ICT at N6 level, least of all someone you're related to" The pride emanated from his voice as he spoke the last few words.

"Fuck John, I think you're givin' me diabetes over here. You couldn't hide your pride if you wanted to could you?" retorted the tattooed beauty. Her husband simply laughed and shook his head at the ground.

"Please Jack, I can see it in your eyes. You're just as happy as I am!"

Jack reached over with her free hand and thumped Shepard in the arm. "Shut up you bastard", she growled with a smile, her heart not in the insult or punch at all.

"Call that a punch? Careful Jack, people might think that the scariest biotic in the galaxy had gone soft. What ever would you do the-" Shepard's words were cut short by another punch connecting with his shoulder, staggering him backwards. The sly biotic smirked and raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to keep talking. He wisely stayed quiet this time around, choosing instead to plant a kiss on the surprised convict's lips.

Thane had blanked their conversation out as he glanced around the room he found himself in. It was a tall ceilinged affair, large pillars on either side of the room held up the roof from which hung chandeliers that illuminated everything around. Thane's eyes eventually fell on the raised area in front of him. The tall black, ceremonial platform had maybe thirty, forty people standing on it. Thane found it hard to tell exactly how many there were as he could barely see over the lip of the stage. The only person he had a clear view of was an angry looking man, bathed in medals that addressed the gathered masses in front of him with an aggressive undertone in his voice. He hadn't stopped talking since they arrived and Thane hadn't taken any notice of him but it sounded like he was drawing to a close.

"And finally ladies and gentleman. I am proud to award the highest possible honour achievable in the Interplanetary Combatives Training program, a pass at N6 level, to Garrus Shepard!"

From the back of the stage, Thane could see a familiar man march towards the podium the general was standing at. Garrus was Thane's older brother, seven years older to be precise. Commander Shepard had told Thane long ago that both he and his brother were named after great men that had fought beside the commander during his adventures and he had heard many stories about the heroic deeds they performed during the war. This didn't change Thane's opinion on it though; neither did it change the bullies jeers and beatings he received at school.

Unlike Thane, Garrus was the embodiment of confidence. He had an aura of power that followed him around like a cloud and held the respect of everyone around him. Thane had not seen his brother for months and he his appearance had changed greatly in that time. His once smooth, clean face now bore a deep scare across his left check. A closely shaved beard had accompanied his wavy black hair when Thane wished him goodbye but now he mimicked his father's hairstyle; a buzz cut and clean shave. Garrus was still as tall as ever. He was a good head taller than the general who was by no means a short man. The black robe he wore had the Alliance emblem sewn onto it with his name and rank proudly displayed for all to see.

It wasn't that Thane hated his brother, more that he was jealous. Garrus was a natural fighter. He was born to the Shepard name and lived up to his father's legend in all aspects of his life. He could command any man around him and was a dead eye with a rifle. To accompany this he had the silver tongue and attitude of his mother, which gelled perfectly to make him vicious as well as confident. Thane had none of these qualities. From his first few steps he had preferred to play rather than fight. He was naturally shy which meant he found it hard to speak up among groups and this stopped him making friends. One trait he had inherited from his mother however was a knack for biotics.

Under Jack's careful tutoring he had become a gifted and talented biotic for his age, but as he was only ten, this culminated in making pencils and other small objects float a few inches above the ground. Maybe it was because of this that Thane had always felt closer to his mother than his father.

Thane realised that he had been daydreaming for a good few minutes when he re-focused his attention on Garrus, who had already finished his acceptance speech and was shaking the generals hand. The crowd then erupted into applause but no one could compete with Commander Shepard. He was clapping his hands together at sonic boom levels and his cheers could be heard above everyone else in the room. They were accompanied by his mother's congratulations in the only way Jack knew.

"Shit yeah! You showed those fuckers Garrus!"

She was met with a few dagger stares from other parents in the room but of course Jack didn't care, she was too busy enjoying the pride she was experiencing. Shepard and her beamed at their son, their smiles large and proud and for the first time that day, Thane smiled with them. Even though he burned with jealousy, he was a good person at heart and couldn't help but feel a tang of happiness for his brother.

* * *

After the graduation ceremony was complete, the Shepards as they were called (for the last time after a few choice words from Jack), were allowed back stage to see their son. Behind the stage curtain there were tables laid out with all manner of food and drink, from all reaches of the galaxy. In the centre of the room there was a large round table that all the students were seated around idly chatting and joking to each other. It was instantly obvious were Garrus was seated; the large group of squealing girls gave it away. Jack had no problems with pushing the students out of the way to get to her son, she threw a few of the more forward girls an evil look and they backed off. She pulled Garrus to his feet and took him into a hug that had been long overdue. Jack pulled away and punched him roughly on the shoulder and nodded.

"Well done kid. I knew your fathers genes wouldn't hold you back to much" She jested followed by and un-approving look from Shepard. The commander patted his eldest on the back, smiling at him warmly.

"There was never a doubt in my mind you'd make it, even with my genes" he shot sarcastically at Jack. "You've made us all proud today son and I know you'll continue to do so while you serve the Alliance." Shepard patted Garrus on the back again as he finish and the two shared an embrace.

" It's so good to see you lot again, I missed you guys so much" Garrus told the family warmly, glancing from Jack to Shepard and then finally onto Thane who had occupied him self by staring at the floor. "I especially missed you little man, how are the biotics coming along? Fancy showing me some?"

Thane moved his eyes up to meet his older brothers. They had changed to now he looked deep into them; they looked older, wearier and appeared to hide secrets and stories of dark things.

"I can move my toys around" Thane sheepishly replied, glaring back down at the floor as soon as the words had left his lips. His reward was a small chuckle from his brother that burnt his ears and made him glow a bright red colour. Jack noticed this and spoke in defence of her youngest cub.

"You're damn right you can, for your age that's fucking amazing. Garrus wouldn't understand, he's not magical like us" She winked at Thane as she spoke which caused a small laugh to escape from his lips as Shepard ruffled his hair. The family laughed and joked with each other for another few hours. The room was alive with Garrus's stories of his training accompanied by Shepard's murmurs of agreement and the occasional bellowing laugh. They were together again after such a long time apart but it wouldn't last. Garrus was leaving for active duty with the Alliance the next day so that night was all about family and saying their goodbyes. Gifts were exchanged and speeches were made but Thane was only half paying attention to the festivities. He was only ten though, little kids aren't known for their attention span and so now one really seemed to mind him wandering away towards the food table.

For the second time today his short stature had blunted his efforts as he found himself too small to reach the glorious assortment of food laid out for the attendees. Thane suddenly realised just how hungry he had become as his stomach growled at him like a feral beast. He reached up for the mouth-watering spread, his arms outstretched and fingers grasping but to no avail. Thane let out a long and irritated sigh; he glared at the food before a single thought burst into his mind. He gingerly reached out with one hand and a thin sheath of blue energy surrounded the black haired boy. He closed his eyes and focused on a particularly juicy looking apple, it was red, ripe and practically begging to be devoured by the hungry boy. Thane furrowed his brow and bit his lower lip in concentration as the rosy fruit wobbled and shuddered on its plate. Thane's head started to get heavy as he concentrated harder and harder when suddenly the apple sprung up in to the air with a small hiss and lazily hung in defiance of gravity. Thane dared to open one eye followed by another and then a large smile burst onto his face. The small biotic guided the fruit slowly down towards his awaiting mouth; he could already taste the precious fruit between his gums.

"Well now, that's quite some skill you've got there dear" Thane heard a smooth voice behind him call. The blue aura faded and the apple crashed to the floor as he quickly shot around to see where the voice had come from. Behind him stood a tall blonde woman in an Alliance uniform. Her hair was up in a bun and she had glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Thane didn't like her. Something about her seemed false, like she wanted something from him. Maybe Jack felt some sort of deep emotional bond to her child and picked up on what Thane felt as well, or maybe she just happened to glance over in his direction. Either way she shot over to her son and forcefully put herself in between the blonde woman and the frightened child. Jack stared her down, using her beautiful eyes to take in every detail she could see before calmly addressing her, well calmly for Jack.

"Oi sexretary, you scared my kid. I think you better apologise before those pretty specs of yours get rammed somewhere the sun don't shine. Get where I'm coming from?" The biotic raised a glowing fist towards the startled woman who looked shocked for exactly two seconds before re-gaining her composure.

"Ahh you must be Jack, pleased to meet you" Jack didn't break eye contact and completely ignored the friendly greeting.

"Get. Apologising. Now!"

"And that means you must be Thane" The woman smiled down at the small biotic who quickly shuffled behind his mothers leg. "I am terrible sorry if I scared you, but I was only impressed by your skills." She talked to Jack after that.

"You see Jack I run a school for Young adults that focuses purely on the biotically gifted, like your son here"

"So like Grissom Academy then?" Jack interrupted

"Exactly. However this school is located on Umbra, a newly discovered planet in an outer arm of the galaxy. This will avoid any accidents like Grissom Academy" The woman faked a smile again.

"Grissom wasn't a mistake. Cerberus attacked it, I was there" Snarled Jack, resembling a wild animal in both tone and posture, guarding her child.

"I just think with Thanes talents, he would be a perfect match for the school. He would be one of the privileged first year students when this historical place of learning opens and we would love to have him."

Thane's eyes widened as he heard this part. Did she say a new school? The chance to start again with a new group of people? Even at only seven, Thane knew he couldn't let this slip through his grasp even if it took him eight years to convince his parents.


	2. Chapter 2: First Day

_Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare_

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**Chapter 2: First day**

That day had been on repeat in Thane's mind for the last two weeks and now, eleven years after he first levitated anything heavier than a toy he was finally heading off world. He was sat in a spacious flight deck surrounded by other teenagers that he suspected were all heading to the same destination as him; the Umbra Biotic Academy, or the UBA for short. It was all over the news, every vid you watched eventually ended up talking about the fantastic new school in some way. Mostly because of the fantastic planet of Umbra itself, which was heralded as the most beautiful garden planet yet due to its lush jungle, brightly coloured foliage and, thanks to a combination of its atmosphere and sun, a vibrant purple sunset every night. Most people seemed to have forgotten the wealth of biotic potential flying towards the planet at breakneck speeds, all eager to learn and control their unique abilities.

Thane had researched how long the flight would take from earth, a staggering five days which almost put him off the idea. He didn't like the idea of his first taste of space travel lasting longer than a family holiday. In spite of that however he had boarded the ship and they were now within touching distance of Umbra. The planet's two moons could be seen near the distant horizon and the blue tint of oceans clearly stood out against the thick green that made up the planet's singular landmass. While the view outside was a sight to behold, there are only so many days you can spend staring at space. Three. Than had discovered it was only three days one person can spend looking at space before the white specks start to get dull and weary. To entertain himself he had instead watched the other teenagers go about their business.

Most of his shipmates were fairly predictable; either cocky and boisterous with there powers or reclusive and shy. Thane had grown and matured in eleven years but he still hung firmly in the later group. Thane had developed well, going from a short child to an above average teenager. His black hair was still shaggy and just long enough to cover his ears but there was a prominent sweep to his fringe that fell slightly over his left eye. His eyes themselves were so brown they almost matched his hair, and held the same beauty his mother's did. He wore simply dark blue jeans and grey shoes aboard the ship, accompanied by a plain black t-shirt and studded belt. The purple "Shepard" hoodie he had once worn had now been replaced by a teal hoodie with no markings or words to discern him as the son of the famous war hero.

As Thane lay on his bed and day dreamed of what life without parents would be like he heard the ship's A.I ring out through the corridors and rooms.

"Will all students please report to the shuttle bay, we will be arriving at Umbra in twenty minutes."

With all the energy Thane could muster he hauled his luggage onto his bed and traipsed towards the aforementioned shuttle bay. AS he walked through the ship that had been his home for the past five days he noticed little things that had eluded him before hand. Like how the floor lighting gently pulsed like the heart beat of a huge animal or how the sounds of the engine could be heard over the hustle and bustle of ship life if you listened really closely. He wasn't going to miss it, hell he had wanted to get off it within hours of stepping aboard the blasted ship, but somehow leaving it meant that his time at the UBA was actually going to happen and that from now on, he would have to work hard to prove to people he deserved to be there.

* * *

The shuttle deck opened and the warm air of Umbra swept into the ship, causing many of Thanes classmates to inhale in shock and take a step back. The first few teenagers stepped forwards and onto the planets surface. Thane noticed they were the same group of cocky guys that had been fooling around and flirting with the girls on board, throwing scrunched up paper at them whenever they got the opportunity. Thane narrowed his gaze, filled with hatred and jealousy for them in equal measures. He was suddenly reminded of Garrus.

After the first few had stepped down the rest soon followed. Judging the planet safe enough to walk on now. Thane was swept up in the wave ok kids as they all left in a hurry, eager to explore or meet their friends who had arrived on other shuttles. As he left the ship though, Thane did not run for anyone, he had no one to run for and neither did frantically explore the surrounding area in a giddy haze. He placed his luggage in one of the bag carts and simply stared at the huge building in front of him as the cart zipped off inside the academy. It was as white as snow with large glass windows breaking up its otherwise smooth surface. The central building was long and tall with smaller, rounded buildings connecting to it along its length. Thane could see why it took so long to build, the structure was bigger than her had ever seen and yet so few had arrived.

"Planning for it to get big then are they", he thought to himself as a smirked crossed his face. The first piece of emotion he had shown since landing. As if that slight human feeling brought him back to the world of the living he snapped out of his thought and realised the other students were already making there way inside the academy. He rushed to catch up and joined the end of the queue behind two small girls, feverishly chatting and giggling to themselves.

"Laura look at all this! I mean… wow. I mean just… wow." The little girl couldn't get her words out; the thrill of being on another planet must have been too much for her. Thane could sympathise with her about that, it was a shock to be on another planet when you thought about it but he had watched so many vids about distant lands and space travel that none of it seemed new to him. As he walked through the large, central building's corridors he spotted an inscription carved into the top of the left hand wall in large block letters.

"The Umbra Biotic Academy. Funded and supported by Timothy Kore"

Thane's eyebrow lifted as he read. He had never heard of this Timothy Kore before, which was odd because if he had enough money to fund such an enormous project he must have been a pretty high up man.

The flood of people he was following seemed to slow down and Thane arched his neck to try and figure out why. The students were filling into what looked like a central meeting area. It had tables, chairs, sofas, holos and even a bar for the older students. When Thane got to the room everyone was already seated and gazing intently at a single woman at the end on the room. Thane recognised her business like posture. He recognised the blonde hair so neatly done up. He recognised the glasses, although different in style, which still sat on the bridge of her nose. It was the same woman that had told him about Umbra eight years ago yet time had not been kind to her. Thane noticed bags under her eyes, slightly discoloured skin and wrinkles where before the skin was pristine. She spoke with a clear, concise voice to the amassed crowd as Thane took his seat at the opposite side of the room to her.

"Hello and welcome my talented young protégés, to the Umbra Biotic Academy. The school for children and teenagers gifted in the use of biotic powers and dedicated to helping you improve and broaden your skills. At Umbra, our power will become your power." The final sentence stung Thane like a knife. He remembered why he didn't like her fake over-the-top personality all those years ago. He could tell what was coming next.

"I will be your headmistress Miss Loten."

"God I hate being right." Thane said under his breath so quietly no one could hear.

"If you have any question at all during your stay at UBA please, don't hesitate to personally contact me." With one last cheery smile to stick in Thanes side she left the room and was instantly replaced by another woman, this time a lot shorter with brown hair and wide shoulders.

"Could everyone whose last name falls into A-M please gather on the left of the room, and anyone whose last name starts with N-Z please stand on the right. You will be sorted into your individual buildings and dorm rooms from there."

Thane silently cursed his father for being called Shepard as he moved against the flow to the right of the room. The multitude of people in the room suddenly became glaringly obvious to Thane in that moment. There were people from all walks of life. Some looked poor while others looked like spoilt fucks. He chuckled under his breath as he felt his mother's influence in the back of his head. There were children as young as fourteen milling around him and people that looked to be about the same age or a bit older than Thane. He speculated that nineteen must be the cut off point for the Academy. He eventually found his way to the correct half of the room and stood in the considerably smaller of the two groups, waiting for further instruction.

On cue a tall balding gentleman appeared before the teenagers and brought up his omni-tool. The orange hologram followed the contours of his wrist and lower arm as he typed away furiously at a keyboard with an expression like it had somehow angered him.

"Paul Nyss?" He called out to the group in front of him, his eyes scanning their faces for the first lamb to his slaughter. A boy of maybe 15 stepped forward timidly, the rest of the group flicking between him and the apparent teacher to see what was going to happen next. To their surprise the bald man cracked a warm smile as he motioned the child to come forward.

"It's ok Paul, I don't bite. I promise" The boy let out a small laugh. "Ok so you're in the two hundred block with the rest of the second years. Don't be worried they are all your age, you'll fit right in" The man patted Paul on the shoulder and pointed him in the right direction as he slowly plodded away to his building alone. All the eyes from the group followed him as he walk before concentrating back on the teacher in front of them.

He slowly made his way through his long list of students, making sure to give each one a small pep talk before directing them towards what would be their home for the next however many years. The man had clearly made an effort. White and grey plaid shirt tucked into his trousers, polished black shoes and an immaculate blazer to finish it off. Thane had to admit that the man had some style. He seemed to be genuinely nice as well, which you didn't come across often. Thane attention re-focused on what he was saying long enough here the next name on his list.

"Katherine Richards"

His words hung in the air for a second or two before he repeated himself.

"Katherine Richards?" this time as a question directed at the crowd.

Suddenly a small hand poked its way out from the fog of people and Thane heard a girl's voice.

"Yes! Yes I'm here sir!" Thane could just about hear her muffled voice through the mass of bodies. "Excuse me. Excuse me. Move please!" the voice got closer towards him before a girl burst through the front of the group and almost tripped up trying to get to the teacher.

Thane instantly felt his heartbeat quicken and the air get stolen from his lungs as he gazed upon the new girl. Katherine was small but not too small. Five foot four to be precise and she suited her height perfectly. She was a slender build, with not much muscle apparent but by no means did she look puny. Now saying Thane was an outcast was and understatement but he was still a teenage boy and that meant his eyes were instantly drawn to two areas: her breasts and her behind. To his credit he was subtle about it, unlike a few other guys he spotted blatantly checking her out as she stood in the open. He couldn't blame them though. Her arse was akin to what boys feared to imagine even in their wildest daydreams and her breasts, like the rest of her body, matched her build perfectly.

Thane had to forcefully tear his eyes away from her body to look at the rest of her, which he found to be just as pleasing. Her hair was light pink in colour and cut short into a pixie cut with a longer fringe pushed over to the right side of her face. She absentmindedly tucked it just behind her ear before looking down slightly and causing it to fall forward and rest in its original place. Thane smiled at this small mannerism, the girl radiated cuteness. Her eyes were ice blue, soft and pale yet vibrantly alive at the same time. She had her nose pierced and in it she wore a plain silver ring that fit her facial features perfectly. Her lips matched her body, thin and slender and her smile. Oh god her smile. In that moment Thane felt he could write a sonnet about her smile. It could break stone and cause old men to weep were they stood. It was so genuine and heartfelt that it exemplified the already cute girl to stratospheric levels. His mind crashed back to reality with a thud however when he realised her wasn't in a Shakespearian play and that he wasn't a poet.

"Pull yourself together man." He thought to himself. "You're not some Casanova lover boy, you're a dorky weirdo. Stick to what you know best"

"Sorry about that. Normally people call me Kat so I wasn't listening for my full name" The girl said, catching her breath and regaining balance before smiling at the man stood in front of her. She seemed unaware of the copious male attention she was attracting, or she was painfully aware of it and was choosing to ignore it. Probably the second option Thane thought to himself.

"Perfectly ok lass" The bald teacher told her "So it's Kat then yes? May I ask why?"

A flicker of something Thane couldn't put his finger on appeared in the girl's eye and her smile dropped a fraction but she quickly caught it and reverted back to how she was.

She shrugged of the question. "Dunno. Just prefer it I guess." She raised and dropped her shoulders as she answered which brought a laugh out of the teacher.

"Fair enough. If you would like to go through to the five hundred building please, second door on your right." Kat nodded her head and broadly smiled back at the teacher as she walked away followed by the eyes of every male left in the group.

The sound of typing brought Thane's eyes back to the teacher who remained perfectly still in front of them as Kather- Kat entered the five hundred building. He muttered a curse word before shaking his hand and looking irritated.

"Oh crap missed someone, Ok sorry for the mistake but do we have a Mark Orson here?"

"Yeah. Right here" came a deep confident voice from behind Thane. He felt a shove on his shoulder and was pushed out of the way as Mark strolled through. It was the same guy Thane had seen getting off the shuttle and he was just as confident and cocky up close. The teenager, not man, as Thane had to remind himself, was taller than Thane and boarder too. He had short blonde hair and wore a white shirt that was stretched across his upper body muscles a little too tightly to be comfortable. Thane swore he could hear the girl next to him sharply inhale as he walked out. Why a biotic had to be so strong bemused Thane but he wasn't about to bring it up with the guy, he looked like a tank.

"Ok, well you are in the six hundred building, third door on your right as you go down there, ok?"

"Yep gotcha' baldy" Said Mark as this time he patted the teacher on the shoulder. The man looked startled and confused as he ran his hand over his scalp subconsciously before continuing.

"Right umm ok. Next is… Thane Shepard"

Thane felt his stomach drop. In his hormone fuelled confusion he had forgotten that it would be his turn to be judged soon. He heard the murmurs from the people around him, questioning whether or not this mysterious person being called was related to the famous commander. Very reluctantly, Thane stepped out into the view of the awaiting crowd and felt the burn of their stares. He glanced at his feet before peeped out from under his fringe at the teacher.

"Ahh so YOU'RE Commander Shepards son. It's an honour to have you here my boy" The bald man smiled and patted him on the back as he finished he what he was saying and pointed down the corridor. Just head down there and take the second door on your right, just follow where Kather- Kat went." The man continued to smile and waved Thane goodbye before turning around to the remaining people left. Thane heard quiet murmurs from behind he similar to what he had heard his whole life.

"That can't be THE commander Shepard's son"

"He's so puny though!"

"I could take him, easily"

Thane pretended not to hear as there words bounced of the inside of his head. He thought that Umbra was going to be a new beginning but it looked like it would be the same as everywhere else he had been in his life. But then a pink haired vixen sprang into his min and his mood lifted. Maybe this time, things might be different.


	3. Chapter 3: Stirrings in the Night

_Authors notes: Mass effect is the property of BioWare._**  
**

_This chapter is a little bit long than the first two, got carried away with it :P_

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**Chapter 3: Stirrings in the night**

Three weeks had passed since they all first arrived on Umbra and still Kat was having trouble settling in. She missed her mum and dad, she missed her house, and she missed her own bed with the little indent where she would lie down each night. Kat stared into the mirror and came to the conclusion that the thoughts flying through her brain wouldn't allow her to sleep and it would be another restful night. She pulled down her lower eyelids to get a good look at her bloodshot eyes before recoiling with a look of horror on her face and rubbing her eye.

"This isn't good for you Kat." She spoke to herself softly as not to awaken her roommate who was sleeping peacefully just outside the door. She looked back to the mirror and ran a hand through her hair, spiking some of it up at an awkward angle and smiled to herself. She blew the mirror a kiss before returning to her bed to stare at the ceiling. Before she got in though she heard a faint thump come from down the corridor. She chalked it up to her mind playing tricks again and dismissed it but once again she heard it. Still unsure as to where it was even coming from she carefully opened the dorm door and poked her head out. The academy was pretty lax when it came to curfews. Their view was as long as you could function properly the next morning it didn't matter when you slept but Kat though a female student walking around at two in the morning alone might raise a bit of a commotion.

Still she was intrigued by the noise, louder now she had edged out of the room and shut the door silently behind her. Now she stood in the corridor outside her room she could tell the sound was coming from the practice room. The practice room was a large, circular room directly under the living area, which was under the dorm rooms. This was the same in every building as far as she knew and it gave the academy a nice symmetrical feeling. The noise was by no means loud, it was barely audible to her so no one would be woken up by it but still, and to carry any noise at all up to the dorm rooms took a lot of effort. She was intrigued further.

Being so small she barely made a sound when she tip-toed past the other rooms, a few of her fellow students could be heard snoring faintly through their doors and she felt sorry for their room mates. She followed the noise down to the living area, which held the buildings kitchen, eating area and a large space to relax and chill out. Normally this room was bustling with people but at this hour the room was dead quiet. The only noise that could be heard was that god damn thumping from the floor bellow. In the living area the sound was clear. A strong thump sound sticking mostly to a slow beat. It sounds too heavy to be someone walking around, and too deliberate, too well timed to be someone taking out their rage.

She prowled her way towards the stairs leading down to the practice room; astounded no one had caught her yet. That was before she glanced at the clock on the wall and remembered just how early it really was. She considered going back up to bed, giving up on the noise and trying to get some sleep but then a succession of quick thumps grabbed her attention again.

"It appears curiosity might just kill the Kat after all." Smirked Kat for a second feeling clever before remembering that it was just her in the room alone talking to herself, not the coolest thing to do really.

She shook off her embarrassment and continued on her journey down the staircase to the bottom floor of the building: the practice room. From the outside it looked like an interrogation room, a large double-sided mirror occupied most of the wall with the only other feature present being the door. Cat edged along the wall till she met the door and prepared herself for what she would see on the inside. All the while she had been approaching the door, the thumping sound had gotten more frequent almost as if it was her own heart beating with a mixture of fear and excitement. She didn't get much excitement back home but she had always dreamed of it, and this was as close as she had ever gotten. Fear burned her head but she wasn't going to turn back now, how could she when she was so close to solving the mystery?

She slowly and carefully peered through the glass slit in the door to peek a look at how was inside. To her slight disappointment there was only one guy, not the small army she had imagined. The boy in there must have been her age she thought and was practising his biotic powers on dummies. She saw him fling a shockwave at a dummy in an attempt to knock it over but the dummy merely wobbled and teetered before lurching upright again with a thump. It suddenly hit her that the noise she had been following had been that of the dummy returning to its original position, she laughed slightly at what her imagination had come up with instead of something so simple.

As she continued to watch the boy practice she could see that after every unsuccessful attempt he would grit his teeth and furrow his brow, clearly angry with himself. His black hair was wet from sweat and his chest visibly rose up and fell down from panting, it was clear the guy was exhausted. As Kat continued to watch the student practice she started to notice some of the finer points about him. She stared at his subtle arm muscles; just peaking out of the tight black top he wore rolled up to above his elbows. His jet black hair, although sweaty, was the length se liked on guys, not so long you cant tell the gender from behind and not so short that she could see scalp. His eyes were brown, almost as dark as his hair and gorgeous. Although not her usual type, Kat couldn't deny that this guy wasn't too bad on the eyes. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind.

"Don't go doing that Kat, Do be ruining things again"

Suddenly she remembered his face; he was Commander Shepard's son from her class. Kat racked her brain before the light bulb above her head shone bright and she remembered he was called Thane. Most people thought it was a stupid name but Kat actually found it oddly beautiful, it sounded deep and spiritual. Kat got to thinking about how she probably wasn't the kindest person on Umbra towards him. Her group of friends were the "cool" ones so a few members poked fun at their classmates but Kat had never done that. But she hadn't stopped them either. She stared at the floor slightly out of shame before a noise from inside the room drew her attention.

Thane was transfixed with the dummy he was attacking and Kat saw her chance. She eased open the door with the lightest of touches and quietly stepped into the room, almost blowing the door shut the amount of pressure she applied. As she slowly turned around she was relived to see the biotic still facing away from her and throwing shockwaves at a dummy. She could hear the noise the power made as it flew through the air now, a rippling sound that seemed to pulsate inside your head for a second or two after the initial move had ended. Kat took a step forward towards the lonely student and raised a hand preparing to speak a greeting of some kind when suddenly out of no-where she was greeted herself with the full force of a biotic shockwave.

* * *

It had been a long day for Thane and it was starting to get late. He could see the dazzling purple sunset out of his dorm room window and started to get lost in his own thoughts and the quiet call of his bed. A sudden bleep form his private terminal woke him with a start. The flashing light irritated his heavy eyes as he slumped down into his seat to see the message. But he didn't receive a message; it was a live video call.

Shit Thane thought to himself. He rubbed his eyes furiously and tried to make his hair look presentable before answering the call.

"Hello?" He asked, trying to sound awake. I did not work.

"Wake ya did I?" Came a snide reply. He instantly knew it was his mum Jack and a smile appeared on his face for the first time in three weeks.

"Listen here, you aint going to that school… academy thing to sleep like some lazy fucking Batarian. Get out there and blow some shit up!"

"Mum its like midnight, everyone is in bed already. I think if I "blew shit up" as you put it I might get a few complaints."

"You can't be sarcastic with me, I invented that shit."

There was a brief period of silence between the two as the stared at each other before Jack spoke with a smile.

"So how's it going down there? Just thought I call because quite frankly without you here your father has been acting like a horny fucking schoolboy. Twat wont leave me alone for 3 seconds."

"I still don't want too know that sorta stuff about you two, how many times? You two are forty seven for gods sake!"

"Calm ya tits! Fuck sake anyone would think I'd told you how he-"

"I implore you, for the sake of my sanity not too finish that sentence" Thane interrupted.

Jack smiled again, that wicked mischievous smile she used when she could tell she was pulling the right threads.

"Ha ha ha just messin' with ya. See your dad doesn't get that, he always thinks I'm being serious. I've got no one to tease when you aint here." She pouted after finishing what she was saying, hoping to get a response out of her son.

"Oh that makes me feel so warm inside" Thane held his hands over his chest and sarcastically wiped a tear from his eye. His mother laughed again loudly which apparently alerted Shepard to the call as he came bustling into the hologram.

"Thane?" he peered inquisitively at the projection.

"Hey dad" Thane waved back

"Ahh goo to see you again, well see a holo of you at least. This is much better than sending messages to one and other. So come on then, tell me what biotic camp is like." The commander seemed genuinely interested so Thane chose to ignore the use of "biotic camp" this time. His mother didn't however and Jack playfully batted Shepard round the back of the head, releasing a small curse word from his lips.

"Yeah its going ok, the people are nice. Well most of the students are kinda dickish but the teachers are nice. There's this bald teacher called Patrick and he's really good and always friendly-" Jack burst in then.

"Some of the kids are dickish? Then teach the scrawny tit heads who's the boss. Break a few bones, curb stomp a few heads. Don't let them push you around; you're stronger than they are Thane and if any one of them lays a hand on you I will fly over there myself and crush the little prick in my palm." Jack's hole body glowed blue and Thane could tell she was being serious, he was a little scared of her when she acted like this, he couldn't imagine what it must be like to get on her bad side.

"Mum its fine chill out, they aren't going to jump me when I'm going to eat or something, I can handle it." The storm around Jack ebbed and phased out of existence as Shepard put an arm around her and pulled her in close. She relaxed into him and kiss him quickly on the lips before staring dead straight at the holo.

"Seriously. Anyone fucks with you, tell me first and ill make them wish they had never been born."

Thane got the message and nodded in agreement, mostly to shut her up rather than anything else.

"Right I better be getting to bed, this training thing is hard work"

"Oh speaking of hard work," His father said abruptly "guess who has just been award a bravery medal? Garrus." Shepard beamed at the hologram but Thane could only manage to reply with a half heated grin.

"Ok you're tired I see, I'll let you get some rest. Good work out there son" John Shepard nodded at Thane and walked out.

"Yeah, keep it up and all that shit. Hell I dunno, stay safe out there. I love you kid"

"Will do, I love you too mum"

With that Thane ended the call and shut down the terminal. He breathed out a long sigh. Couldn't he have a single conversation with his dad without mentioning Garrus? He shook his head to try and move the jealousy around but only made it come back stronger, this time bringing anger with it. He couldn't get any sleep like this; he was past the point of rest now. Even the dark nights sky with its alluring stars didn't give him the respite he needed. He finally decided to stop lying on his bed, wallowing in self-pity and hate, and to instead do something practical with his time. Although it was getting on one o'clock in the morning now he knew that the practice room would be open, they always are as biotics sometimes have a had time sleeping and need to let off some steam, which was exactly what he was heading down there to do. He put on his work out clothes and paced down the corridor to the staircase.

Once inside the practice room he limbered up. The first thing his mother had taught him was that you had to prepare for a fight if you could. Always be ready, always be alert and above all else, know a way out but the last lesson was rendered mute in the situation. He sized up the practice dummies as he stepped into the middle of their protective circle. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, blocking out any outside noises or distractions. He could feel the mass effect field slowly build up around him; he could feel the small streaks of blue energy radiating from his skin. Curling round his arms and running down his fingers, curling around the tips and heading back up towards his head. He opened his eyes and could see the blue tint touching the corners of his vision, running away whenever he tried to focus on it.

Thane let loose a biotic shockwave at the dummy directly in front of him witch collided with the dead centre of its chest. The dummy rocked on its base leaning backwards before coming back down flat on its base with a thud. Then threw another shockwave and another but still the dummy refused to fall over. He gritted his teeth, willingly himself to try harder and go further than he had ever done before, anger and jealously fuelling the fires of his power. He tried using pull on the dummy but could only lift it one of two feet before it fell out of his grasp and crashed back onto the floor. The frustration in his mind clouded his vision as brought his right arm around his body and flung it back again, releasing a poisonous curse along with the biotic wall that he sent flying towards a dummy. It staggered and slid back but still refused to fall to his power.

"Why. Wont. You. Fall. Over!" Thane screamed inside his head. He was starting to loose control. Hurling random biotic attacks one after the other at the same dummy, trying to batter it into submission. He was tired, sweaty, anger, frustrated. So many different emotions and feelings clogged his mid he couldn't even think straight.

"I bet Garrus doesn't loose control like this."

That did it. Just comparing himself to his older brother put a fresh set of anger into the fires like rubbing salt into a wound. His teeth clenched harder than before and he panted as he threw stronger and stronger attacks that the dummy but still its remained adamantly in place.

Suddenly he felt the presence of another person in the room and thought back to what his mum had said. He had completely forgotten to stay alert and because of this someone had gotten the slip on him. His brain was still on fire so he reacted without thinking, twisting round and releasing a biotic shockwave at the person before he had even glanced at who it was.

* * *

The smoke that lingered between the two of them slowly cleared so that Thane could just about make out a silhouette. The first thing he saw were two ice blue eyes behind a biotic shield staring straight into his deep browns. His heart dropped as he hoped against hope it wasn't who he though it was but it proved useless. Kat stood before him; she was projecting a barrier to defend herself and staring at him with an expression of shock and severity, one brow lifted.

They both stayed silent, staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like weeks. Eventually Thane broke the silence.

"I'm…" He began. "I'm sorry for that, I wasn't expecting any company and you caught me of guard. I wasn't really thinking, sorry."

It seemed all Kat had waited for was an apology as she quickly dropped her barrier after that and returned to a more relaxed posture, leaning her hips slightly to one side and resting her hand on them.

"Thought you would never apologise." She joked. Thane looked bemused by her lid back attitude. He had almost smashed her into a wall after all.

"You're Thane right? Shepards son?" She apparently chose to ignore his confused appearance and paced sideways, not taking her eyes of Thane as she approached a waist high bench.

"So I've been told" Quipped Thane, his eyes following her as she moved. A small giggle slipped out of her light lips as she finally took her eyes away from Thane to gracefully leap up to the bench. Her legs dangled off the edge and the tips of her toes just grazed the floor as she swung them absentmindedly back and forth.

Thane took the opportunity to take in the gorgeous eighteen year old sitting in front of him She was wearing a large men's t-shirt; easily three sized too big that hung off her chest and ended just bellow her hip. Peeking out from bellow the shirt was a pair of very short pyjama shorts that closely hugged her stunning thighs. This was the first time he had seen a real woman bare legged and it was not a sight he would quickly forget. Her legs were long and smooth. He looked her up and down noticing that her toes, like her fingers, had a deep shade of crimson nail polish on that stood out brilliantly against her pale skin. He marvelled at how even in just a big t-shirt with no make up Kat still looked stunning beyond belief. The only thing that looked out of place was her hair that was oddly spiked up on one side as if she had just gotten out of bed. Kat must have seen him staring at it because she went a pale shade of red and quickly looked at the ground, flattening her hair and putting her fringe behind her ear.

"Yeah you woke me up, hence the hair" She lied, trying to justify the clothes and hair as her fringe fell in front of her face again. "Normally I don't look a complete state." She joked while laughing slightly.

"I think you look great." Thane whispered quietly under his breath as quietly as a mouse.

"What did you say?" Kat asked. She sounded equal parts surprised and confused.

"Huh?"

Fuck. Thane panicked, his mind was still a mess and he swore he only though that. The cogs and machines in his brain whirred for an answer as time dripped by agonisingly slowly. He could see her expression change from surprise too annoyance as he fumbled with his answer, tripping over his words.

"I- I said I'm sorry I woke you. I didn't realise how loud I was being and well… yeah sorry for that. I'll just be leaving now"

"Smooth" Thane thought to himself, his insides turning from embarrassment. Turning to leave he walked straight into a training dummy with a loud crack and stumbled backwards, blindsided by the impact. He gathered himself, cringed, took a deep breath and continued his walk. "Smoother still dumbass, what are you going to do for an encore, snag your training pants on a nail and have a nightmare?" He clasped onto the waist of his trousers subconsciously.

* * *

Kat wasn't stupid and she definitely wasn't deaf. She was flattered by Thane's words but could practically see the embarrassment radiating from him so decided she would let this slip of the tongue go for now. Kat gazed down at her lap to save him from any further embarrassment and heard Thane turn to leave, she couldn't help raising a small, innocent smile as she did so. A smiled that she hadn't used in a very long time.

"Bless him." She thought, "He's so awkward around girls, it's kinda cute"

She lifted her head back to where he had been just in time to see him walk into the dummy. Her hands flew to her mouth just in time to contain a laugh, although her shoulders bobbed up and down and her face wrinkled in silent giggles. Her small smile had transformed into a full on grin when she called after Thane.

"Hold on there. You can't make all that noise and get me out of bed just to not tell me what you were doing down here. Have you never watched any films? Plus you did kinda just try to throw me against a wall so you do owe me" She smiled warmly at him as he turned around, one hand resting on the door handle still and glanced at her before staring at the ground. Kat felt bad making him stay, he was obviously uncomfortable with the situation but after all the sneaking around she had done she felt she deserved to know.

Something about Thane had Kat interested. Maybe it was his biotic abilities, maybe it was his awkwardness or maybe it was just plainly his looks but whatever it was, Kat wanted to get to know him better and now seemed like as good 'a time as any.

* * *

"So?" Kat asked Thane inquisitively.

With a muffled sigh Thane walked back into the centre of the room and stood next to a dummy, fiddling with his hands. He didn't want to stay here and talk to her. The longer he spent with her the more chance he had of saying something stupid and convincing her, more than he already had, that he was an idiot. When he spoke it was more towards the dummy itself than Kat.

"I dunno. I just wanted to practice." He said nonchalantly with a shrug. He knew she wouldn't but it, they had only spoken for five minutes and Thane could already tell Kat was smart. He bleakly awaited the smart arse comment on his clumsiness, or awkward manner but to his surprise non-came.

"Practice huh? With the sorta force you threw at me I'd say practice was the last thing you need. You've gotta be a combat with that amount of power am I right?" The pink haired girl asked, bringing her legs up on to the table and shifting around to sit crossed legged, resting her hands on her knees.

Thane was puzzled at the sudden shift in conversation topic. He could see in her icy eyes that she knew he was lying and yet didn't pursue it. Why?

"Umm, yeah I am a combat, from the shield I guess you're a support then?"

Combat was the term the students at UBA had given to a biotic that focused on offensive powers and skills. Combats were trained to get close and disrupt enemy lines with their powerful attacks before falling back behind cover. A support on the other hand was someone who focused on just that; support. They use their biotics to project powerful shields to deflect bullets and use disabling or hindering powers to slow down the enemies advance.

"Yup, got it in one." Kat smiled at Thane. There was that smile again. That smile he had seen three weeks ago that still lingered in his most pleasant dreams. It was warm and comforting, when Thane saw her smile at him he felt that for the first time since he got to Umbra that someone actually wanted to talk to him. He relaxing with that thought, his body became looser and he too smiled back at her. There was a silence between them for a while as Thane's eyes glanced from Kat's smile to the floor, enjoying the moment.

"I guess if you really want know" Thane began; "I was down here because I was annoyed and wanted to get out some stress." He was a little shocked at what he said. It might not have been the whole truth but it was more emotion than he would readily give to anyone else, let alone someone he'd been talking to for fifteen minutes.

"Stress? Why would you be stressed? We've only just gotten here." Kat asked, tilting her head to the left slightly and raising an eyebrow as she spoke.

"I uh… I just can't get all my homework done." Thane joked, sarcasm heavy within his words. He held his breath to see if his attempt at humour was accepted by the young vixen or if he would have to quickly make up and excuse and leg it for the door again but this wasn't the case. Thane breathed a sigh of release as Kat giggled appreciatively and smiled up at him again from atop her bench. Her bright blue eyes glinting at him. Her nose ring caught the practice room lights just right and glistened in the silent room, Holding Thane's focus on the girls face as they smiled to each other in silence.

"Christ is that the time?" Kat exclaimed, glancing down at her omni-tool. Thane followed suit and was just as shocked. It was coming up to half three, apparently all those smiling silences had added up. "We really should get back, we've got class tomorrow, well today, and I promised id meet up with Mark."

Mark Orson, How could Thane not remember? Kat and Mark had gotten together after only a few days of being on Umbra together and they didn't seem to care who knew. She was always sneaking out of class to go see him and he would regularly stop by the Five hundred building's living area and he and Kat would sit together. Laughing, joking. Kissing.

Thane suddenly felt like a steak knife had been shoved through his gut as he cursed himself for being so stupid.

"She has a boyfriend you fucking moron, she's not interested in you"

"Yeah, we should." Thane replied, thankfully saying the correct thing out loud this time. Although he didn't look directly at her Thane could see Kat look at him questioningly when out of the corner of his eye when he replied so plainly. He saw her mouth begin to open but was not about to have this conversation with her, not now and not ever.

"Hey are yo-"

Thane had closed the door and ran up the stairs before Kat could even finish her question. She was left in the practice room alone and confused as the sound of Thane's footsteps slowly faded away as he ran back t his room.

"You're a twat" was all Thane thought as he collapsed into bed. The single mattress cot was not as welcoming as his bed back home but he was so physically and emotional drained that he rolled over and fell straight asleep, hopelessly trying to erase the black ink of the evening from his mind.


	4. Chapter 4: Breakfast and a Half

_Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare_

_I know have a very gorgeous editor for these things so there should be less stupid misstakes now :)_

* * *

**Chapter 4: Breakfast and a half**

Thane awoke to the incessant bleeping of his alarm. Cursing the splitting noise he sat on the edge of his bed and looked at the time.

Seven o'clock.

What a god awful time. Thane had slowly grown to hate the mornings since coming to Umbra. Each one signaled the start of another day of biotic exercises and workouts, not how he would normally spend his time. With a concerted effort he raised himself off the bed and walk towards the bathroom. He didn't have a room mate so was able to enjoy the freedom of sleeping naked without any judgment, plus it meant no-one to occupy the other bed and irritate him with conversation. He started a shower and stared into the mirror, running his hands through his hair and resting them on the back of his neck. He thought about what he was doing, how could he be so caught up with Kat? He'd only met her three weeks ago and only talked to her once, yet he couldn't stop thinking about her. Every now and then he would be reminded of her. He got into the shower and saw his shampoo; a pink berry concoction and was instantly imagining Kat's pixie cut hair. The light blue shower gel reminded him of her eyes, the crystal clear blue eyes he could stare into for days.

Jesus, pull it together Thane. You're supposed to be a man after all, not a seven-year-old girl.

It was eight o'clock when Thane had finally finished drying himself off and gotten into his UBA uniform and he thought it was about time he ventured out into the academy, class started at eight forty five but he felt like breakfast was in order. He put a teal hoodie over his uniform, zipped it up and prepared for the outside world. The living area was already full of people of all shapes and sizes bustling around, grabbing whatever food was on offer before rushing back to their friends. Thane sighed, he had always been slow to make friends and even at age eighteen he hadn't gotten the hang of it. Glumly he grabbed some toast and made for a distant corner of the room. As he walked his mind wandered, day dreaming about things that could never happen and slightly out of reach fantasies he desperately hoped would. His trance was broken when he bumped into a figure walking the opposite direction to him, without thinking he turned to apologise but was beaten to the punch.

"Shit sorry, wasn't paying attention. My bad."

The mysterious person apologizing to Thane was slightly taller and bulkier than Thane but not in a threatening way. He had light brown hair that hung just above his shoulders. His eyes matched his hair, hazel in colour and they looked friendly, the sort of eyes that gave away an inner kindness. He smiled at Thane and patted him on the shoulder, similar to how the teacher had on his first day.

"Uhh it's ok." Thane rushed out slightly taken aback. "Don't worry about it, easy mistake to make." He forced a slight smile and the stranger nodded.

"Sweet. I'm Rick by the way" Rick offered Thane a hand that Thane cautiously shook in return. "And you are?"

"Thane."

"Oh yeah that's right, Commander Shepards son right? Man, he must have been a strict dad growing up." Rick stroked the stubble on his chin as if lost in thought.

"Actually he was the soft one, my mum was the hard ass" Thane looked around out of habit. If Jack were there she would not have been happy.

"Really? Interesting. She wasn't a soldier too was she? Just my dad was in the navy and he came down on me like a tonne of bricks whenever I cocked up."

Thane laughed slightly and shook his head. He loved his mum but always found it hard to describe her to people.

"No. Well not really. She fought along side him in the war but she was technically a criminal the whole way through."

"Oh yeah." Rick clicked his fingers and looked frustrated. "Jack right? Man from what I've heard she would be someone I would not want to piss off."

"You got that right" Thane said accompanied by another quick glance to either side. The two shared a small laugh before Rick spoke up again.

"So where ya heading? Haven't seen you around here for breakfast before, you eat up in your room or what?"

Thane felt awkward once again, he didn't really know how to answer that question without sounding like a loser and it seemed that Rick hadn't cottoned on to it yet. So he thought he would ride this as far as it went and just brush it off.

"Nah I'm just not really a breakfast sorta person, never get up early enough."

"Ahh makes sense, ok well why don't you come sit with us today?" Rick gestured over to a table with two more people sat around it; a girl and another guy.

Thane contemplated the question for a brief second before a large hand was placed on his back and he was lightly pushed forward towards the table.

"Nope took to long, you're ours now." Thane looked back over his shoulder to see Rick grinning and couldn't help but smile to himself as he took a seat between Rick and the girl. As he sat down he finally got a good look at the other two already eating their way through breakfast. The other guy was shorter than Thane but about the same width. He had black hair too, but his was cut short around the sides with more on top. He was more tanned as well, his skin was olive and Thane could see the tips of a tattoo sticking out from under his t-shirt sleeve. He didn't look up as Thane sat down. The girl sitting next to Thane had red hair that stopped just bellow her shoulders and was left freely out of a tie. She looked up towards Thane with green eyes as he sat down and greeted him with a smile.

"Oh hello. I'm Lindsey and this is Steve." She brought a hand across her mouth and spoke in a fake whisper that was just as loud as talking, "He's not very friendly, best keep away from him"

"I heard that" came the disapproving response spoken into the table. Rick and Lindsey laughed to each other before looking back to Steve.

"Come on now, play nice Steve."

"One day I'm going to ruin your pretty face Lindsey" Retorted Steve.

"Careful now sailor, that's no language for the breakfast table. Save it for when we're alone. Anyway we've got company, say hello." Lindsey raised an eyebrow at Steve as she said it and smirked as he raised his head. Thane saw a smile on his lips when he looked at Lindsey and guessed they were a couple.

"Yes ok love."

"Called it" Thane thought to himself.

"Yeah I'm Steve, you alright?"

"Uhh yeah I'm good." Thane answered not really knowing what the question meant. "Sorry so it's Lindsey and Steve right? And you two are…?"

"Yep. Don't ask me what I'm doing with him, I think I'm just going crazy"

"Don't lie, its because of my beautiful face" Steve said, circling his face with his hand while remaining completely emotionless.

Thane laugh but was quickly silenced by an elbow to the chest from Lindsey.

"Shh don't laugh you'll encourage him!" she scorned through her own laughter.

They continued to talk, joke and eat for the next half an hour until class started when Thane had to leave them and head in the opposite direction. He waved goodbye to the trio and was invited to sit with them tomorrow morning as well which filled Thane with warmth. Thane smiled and started walking towards the stairs down to the practice room. He hummed a tune to himself as he went, blissfully unaware of his surrounds until his ears burnt with his name.

"Thane? THANE?" came the girls voice from behind him

He gave up on his song and turned his head to see where the noise was coming from. Thane's stomach leapt at the sight of the person calling his name before instantly falling through his feet remembering last night.

Kat was walking towards him and a smile came across her face as he turned around. She waved warmly towards Thane and he awkwardly returned it and smiled back at her, managing to look calm despite the tremendous yelling inside his head telling him to run before he embarrassed himself anymore.

"Thought you were just going to run away from me again for a second there" Kat joked when she got close, grinning slightly as she looked up at Thane. The two of them began walking to the practice room together.

"Yeah sorry about that, I just didn't want to embarrass myself any more" His gut panged with the awkwardness of last night. His actions burned deep in to his mind like ancient etchings on a cave wall.

"Honestly I don't think you could if you tried, that was like professional level embarrassment."

Thane let out a small laugh, he could hear the sarcasm in Kat's voice and it fell well on his ears.

"You might as well at least try and make friends, Rick and that lot seemed to like you" Thane thought to himself before proceeding.

"Please, you haven't seen anything yet." Thane quipped back at Kat. "A few more meetings like that and you'll truly know what embarrassment is"

"Ok"

Thane thought that reply came a little bit too quickly. His train of thought however was interrupted almost instantly as Kat spoke up again.

"I mean it is what friends do. Hang out and stuff." She stuttered, placing particular emphasis on the word friends.

"We're friends?" Thane asked. He couldn't help himself it just slipped out. It was so new to him that such a gorgeous girl would want to be friends with him that he wasn't sure what to think of it, or even to believe it.

"Well yeah." Kat replied with a laugh. "That ok with you combat?" She cocked her hip and crossed her arms, staring at Thane with one raised eyebrow and a mischievous grin on her face.

Thane mimicked her eyebrows and stared back into her icy blue pearls, smiling as he answered her.

"Combat?"

"Oh yeah. So, we friends?" Kat asked with a joking voice like she already knew the answer, but Thane swore he could detect a very, very slight hint of apprehension as she spoke.

"Well because you asked so nicely I've kinda got to say yes haven't I?" Thane couldn't help but smile warmly as he answered her.

"Good, because class was starting to get boring on my own." Kat walked past him before adding "And you walking into things might liven it up a bit."

Thane could only shake his head and smile as he followed his new friend towards the stairs leading down. He found himself being drawn towards Kat as she walked, her hips swaying from side to side slightly with each step, her slim frame and tight fitting clothing exemplifying her already amazing body. Thane couldn't help but stare at her arse as she walked. It enticed him and so he found it physically hard to look away when she turned around to speak to him. Thane was certain she saw him blushing.

"Come on, we're late. Watch yourself on the stairs klutz." Kat joked with another smile.

"When you fall over I am going to point and laugh"

Thane took Kat's loud laughter as a sign that she could take a joke and made the effort to make a mental note of it. But she was right; they were late so the two of them hurried down the stairs to the practice room for the first lesson of the day.


	5. Chapter 5: The Party

_Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare_

* * *

**Chapter 5: The party**

It was the last week of the first term at UBA and Thane had barely even noticed. The last few weeks had flown by him at light speed. Since he had made friends with Rick, Lindsey and Steve he had been spending most of his free time with them, just hanging around and chatting. He finally felt like he was part of a group that accepted him and that showed in his attitude. Now, instead of groaning and cursing when his alarm went off, he jumped out of bed and practically skipped down the corridors to meet them. Sure there was only three of them, but through them Thane had actively spoken and joked with many other people at the academy. This was a big deal for him. Then of course there was Kat.

He had stuck to his decision to just be friends with her and didn't regret it at all. Sure he still had feelings for her; she was still the most beautiful person he'd seen and he would gladly chop off his right arm to be with her but she had a boyfriend, so he was fine with being friends. Thane assured himself it was better than nothing. They laughed and joked around in class together, much to the annoyance of their teacher but it never got past the friend stage. Sure they flirted but Kat was a girl, girls always flirted with guys. Thane knew better than to read anything into it, for his own sanity if nothing else. Although Thane considered them good friends they didn't speak or hang out much outside of lessons. They both exchanged friendly greetings and stopped to talk to each other in passing, but whenever Thane had gone over to talk to her or if Kat had come to see him, the walking tank Mark Orson had shown up and quickly killed the conversation before hurrying Kat away. Thane knew he shouldn't, but he enjoyed the jealousy in the other guy's eyes. He always had to fight back a sly grin whenever Mark came over for one of his interventions. The two of them always acted courteously towards each other but Thane that knew if Kat hadn't have been there he would have been flat on his back in seconds.

Besides Kat and a handful of other people, Thane didn't have much communication or connection outside of his small friend group. He had talked to other people but none of them had been more than acquaintances, so when a stranger walked over to their table one-morning brandishing envelops, Thane was more than a little surprised to say the least.

"Hello boys and girls." The invader said, too cheerily for Thane's liking. He took a quick look at Steve, then Lindsey sitting next to him, glanced across the table at Rick before ending at Thane. They all reply with greetings but nowhere near as friendly as the strangers had been.

"Ok I know it's the morning but no need to sound so depressed. Lighten up; your day is about to get a hell of a lot better. These-" he handed one envelope to each person on the table, "are your invitations to the half term party. Inside are all the details you will need including time, place, and dress code. Hope you can make it." The messenger smiled at the table as a whole and turned to leave but Steve had other ideas.

"Hang on a sec, why didn't you just mail them to us over the extranet?"

"Because this party is…" He paused. "Off the record, shall we say? We wouldn't want the academy catching wind of it. Feel privileged, you must know someone important to get invites to this party, it's a private event."

The stranger left as quickly as he had arrived, vanishing into the crowd of people queuing to get their morning meal. They waited till he was out of earshot before talking again.

"Who the hell was that? And what did he mean by we must know someone important? Why aren't we important?" Rick voiced what was on everyone's mind. This had all come a bit out of the blue and taken Thane by surprise, but he thought he knew what the delivery boy meant.

He looked over to where Kat, Mark and their friends sat and found Kat had been eagerly staring at him the whole time. She scrunched her features up and a massive grin lit up her face when Thane looked over to her. She held her own invitation up and gestured towards it with a thumbs up. Thane smiled and shook his head before returning the action slightly sarcastically but heartfelt none the less. Kat smiled properly when she saw this and put her fringe behind her ear, smiling all the while as it fell back in to its original place. Mark quickly put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder protectively and pulled her close to him, meeting Thane's eyes with an ominous glare. Thane nodded straight-faced at him and saw Kat chuckle in Marks arm. He didn't return the gesture; instead turned himself and Kat back towards their friend group. Thane did the same and was met with a wall of faces, each on staring at him.

"Oh of course it would be Thane's lover girl who gets us into the cool party." Steve jeered at him as Thane looked between the three. They had been teasing Thane about Kat since the first time she came over to talk to him and hadn't let up once since then. Thane went slightly pinker than usual and focused on his plate full of food.

"Com on guys, again with this? We're just friends ok." He returned to eating his meal as if that would somehow stop them. It didn't.

"You can lie to yourself all you want mate but we know how you look at her, and she knows how you look at her. If I'm honest I think she looks at you a bit in the same way as well if you know what I'm saying." Rick laughed and smacked Thane on the back, causing him to choke on his food.

"What?" Thane managed to get out through splutters and coughs.

"Don't tease him Rick!" Lindsey scowled playfully. "He did this to me and Steve before we got together as well, it's just because he's lonely."

"Wow wow. Bit harsh Lindsey." Rick clutched at his heart mockingly. "There was no need for that sort of personal attack."

"Shut up you big oaf, that's what you get for being mean. But he right Thane, although he worded it terrible as usual. We know you like her-"

Thane opened his mouth to object but Lindsey raised a hand.

"Don't even try to deny that part of it." Smiled Steve, speaking on Lindsey's behalf. Thane looked back down at his food and Lindsey gave Steve a quick kiss on the check before proceeding.

"Yeah so you like her, quite a bit I'm guessing and as a girl I can tell you she likes you too."

"Well you're wrong." Thane began. "She only sees me as a friend and I'm fine with that. Plus she has a boyfriend remember? That massive mountain of a man that looks like he could tear my arms off and beat me to death with them without breaking a sweat."

"Are you fine with that though?" Asked Lindsey.

Thane could feel his answer bubbling up in his throat; there was nothing he could do to stop it. It was as if his words had taken a mind of there own and before he could even think about what he was saying they slithered their way out of his lips.

"No"

"Told you." Lindsey crossed her arms triumphantly and smiled to Steve how squeezed her shoulder in congratulation.

"Well sorry to say mate but while that walking steroid is in the picture you're pretty fucked."

"Thanks for summing that up for me Rick, I hadn't realised." Thane shot him a wicked stare but followed it up with a smile.

Rick place an arm round Thanes neck and pulled him close into a light headlock.

"Plenty of fish in the sea mate. You might even find on at that party there."

Thane had completely forgotten about the envelope that lay in his lap. His friend's little interrogation had side tracked him so he took this reprieve to cautiously open the plain envelope. Inside was an equally as plain piece of paper with a single paragraph on it detailing the party.

"Dear invitee.

We ask that you join us for a night of festivities to celebrate the first half term of UBA. The night will commence at 7:00pm a week from today and continue on until the early hours of the morning. There will be a serving of food and drinks but if you would like something special please supply your own. The dress code is informal but nothing garish please.

We look forward to your attendance

Yours sincerely, Room 573"

Lindsey, Steve and Rick had all read their invites while Thane was miming to Kat so they looked at him expectantly till he finished reading and put the invite down.

"Well, you guys going?"

Rick answered first.

"Fuck that mate, your on your own with this one."

"Yeah sorry to be a pain but this doesn't really sound like my sorta thing, plus we're spending that night together aren't we." Lindsey gave Steve a mischievous grin and his eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah. I'm not even going to bother with an excuse Thane; I've got better things to be doing. Like Lindsey."

Thane chocked a little again.

"Please people, eating here. I don't want to be thinking of all that right now."

"Sorry," Came Lindsey's none apology. "Looks like you're the only one going then, bet that is going to be fun and not awkward."

"Great, thanks guys. I'll remember this." Thane pointed to each one of them in turn trying to glare but they didn't look intimidated in the slightest.

* * *

It was the night of the party and Thane had spent a good hour and a half picking out clothes and getting ready in the mirror. He still couldn't decide on what to wear and it was getting close to seven. He wasn't normally picky with what he wore, just the UBA uniform and a hoodie was normally enough but tonight he would be around new people. He had to look good.

His room was a mess; it was good he didn't share with anyone. There were clothes scattered all around him, empty coffee cups all over his desk and magazines thrown with reckless abandon on the sofa. He had somehow managed to fill a two-person room up with just his own belongings and was a little embarrassed of it. He paced through the obstacle course at his feet and picked out a pair of dark blue jeans and a white and black flannel shirt.

"Shit, this will have to do then" He though to himself glancing over at the time and realising it was already ten past seven. He got dressed and took one final look in the mirror, flattened down his hair, grabbed his trusty teal hoodie and left for the party.

Thane didn't go to many parties. In fact this was his first proper teenage party so it was safe to say he was a little nervous, he hadn't even really drank alcohol before. His dad had given him a beer every now and then but he had never gotten drunk, he didn't think tonight was a good time to start. The last thing he wanted was to act like an idiot in front of new people and then throw up everywhere. Actually scratch that, the last thing he wanted was to do that in front of Kat. A sudden silencing thought hit Thane like a bullet and he froze on the spot. He was going to have to be sociable with Kat, for a long period of time. This wasn't going to be the same as class; they weren't forced to be there for one. Fear and panic slapped Thane across the face; he considered just forgetting it, going back into his room and spending the night alone, maybe watch a holo or something. That way at least he wouldn't have an opportunity to embarrass himself. The thought burned darker and hotter in his mind, singeing his will power and slowly lifting his foot off the ground and his mind back to bleak loneliness.

But he stopped.

His foot fell back into place in front of him and he carried on. Every ounce of his being was telling him, screaming at him to stop. But he powered through. In his head, Kat's Lovely smile kept him going. It had covered up all his other thoughts, for now there was only her smile. The thought of seeing that wonderful smile, despite all his fears and apprehensions, was enough to get him to the party. For the first time he didn't care what happened, he just wanted to see and talk to Kat.

* * *

Knock knock knock.

Thane could just about hear room 573 from the corridor outside. It was surprising how sound-proof these rooms were, what did they think the kids were going to be doing in there? Thane heard some hush voices and some rustling behind the door. It opened a crack and the sound of music filled the air.

"Invitation?" Came a gruff voice from inside.

Thane reached into his jean pocket and pulled the small envelope housing his invite. He poked it through the door opening and it was promptly snatch out of his grasp. A few excruciating seconds went by when Thane thought he had forgotten to replace the invite or picked up the wrong piece of paper by mistake but in spite of his frets the door swung open and he was rushed in. On the other side of wall the atmosphere changed completely. It was packed, the place was big but even it was having trouble keeping the amount of people inside its barriers. Room 573 was larger than Thane's by a considerable margin. It was a deluxe room, one for the children of rich family's and dignitaries. It more closely resembled a pent house than a boarding school room.

This was not what Thane had imagined at all. It was a teenage party so he didn't expect black tie and wine but from the invite he had gotten a sense of class at least. Around him were all manner of individuals doing all manner of things. There were topless girls running around being chased by equally as naked guys. People were sitting round a table doing shots of a clear, smoking liquid while chanting what sounded like an ancient ritual. Thane continued on through the room and found an area full of people dancing, grinding their bodies up against each other. Every now and then there was a couple dotted into the crowd, some feeling feistier than others. They weren't exactly hiding it; he could clearly see a girl with her hand in a stranger's pants while there lips locked in a sloppy kiss. Thane took a long look at the room and quickly decided that was not for him, he decided instead to find a quieter area of the party to see if he could spot Kat. Amongst this many people though, Thane didn't bet very highly on his chances.

He jostled his way through a particularly loud group of people all laughing about some hilarious act their friend "Trucker" had performed while drunk. Thane didn't ever want to know what he had done by the sounds they were making so quickly hurried through trying to block out their noise. Through a fleeting gap in the crowd he spotted vacant bar stools and the hope of some space. He burst through to the other side of the room and fell deflated onto a stool. Thane wasn't sure he could handle this till the early hours of the morning; surrounded by proper teenagers. These people did real teenage things like clubbing and having sex. Thane sat home alone in the evenings practicing biotics or watching a holo. It was safe to say he was a little intimidated; he didn't even have anyone he knew at the party for reassurance as Kat had yet to make her appearance.

A girl caught his attention out the corner of his eye. She had brown flowing hair and was wearing a short black dress. Thane couldn't make out any more detail from his position but he could see what she was doing. She was looking at him intently and whispering to her friends, he eyes never leaving him. Thane decided not to acknowledge their existence; they were probably just bad mouthing him anyway if experience was anything to go by. Then she started to walk over to. This took Thane by surprise; normally it wasn't girls that actively sought him out to make jokes. He turned in on his stool to face her and awaited the silver-tongued attack.

"Hey! Excuse me!" The brunette cried, more than a little drunk. "Are you that Thane Shepard kid?"

"Uhh yeah that's me." Thane didn't want to give them any more ammunition so kept it short and sweet. She clearly wasn't in a fit state to listen to a long answer anyway.

"I knew it!" She screamed smiling to herself. She turned around to face her friends that were all watching like it was a film. "See I told you it was him bitches!"

"My name's Vicky but I doubt you know that. I'm Kats roommate."

Thane's eyes widened as a million questions blazed through his mind at light speed. How did Vicky know who he was? Why had she come over to find out? Why were he friends wondering as well? Where is Kat?

"Where is Kat?"

Again the words jumped out of his mouth before he had a chance to think, he really had to work on that before it got him into trouble.

"Slow down there lover boy." Vicky slurred waggling a finger from side to side.

Thane flushed with embarrassment. Why did everybody keep calling him that? He had to put a stop to that nickname quick.

Thane opened his mouth to speak but was quickly silenced by an aggressively placed finger on his lips.

"Shhh shhh shush… Shush. Come dance with us!" The drunken girl pulled on Thane's shirt with surprising force for the state she was in and shoved him towards her friends.

Thane didn't know what had happened; one moment he had been sitting down on his own and the next he was in the middle of the dance floor. Vicky followed after him, pushing him forward and blocking his escape as her friends cheered her on. He resisted but was not expecting to be man handled so could barely do anything to stop Vicky's determination to get him dancing. Her friends all reached out and grabbed Thane when he got with in arms reach and pulled him into a large group hug. Thane's only thought was to watch his hands, there was so much opportunity for a misunderstanding in this situation.

The girls all cheered again and Thane just looked at each one in disbelief and fear. He had never seen so many attractive girls happy to see him before, he wasn't sure if he liked it. He definitely didn't trust it though. Thane's mind was still packed with questions. There was no logical reason why all these girls would want to even be near him, let alone dance with him.

"Umm sorry but I don't- I'm not really sure- what's going on here?" Thane finally managed to finish a sentence before being pushed and crowded by the other dancers around him.

"Because Kat wont shut up about you that's why!" One of the girls answered but Thane couldn't tell which one. He heard another one shouting to him above the booming music.

"You're like her Romeo! She says you're the loveliest person she knows and all that shit but she never said you were HOT. Damn!" A chorus of agreement from the other girls followed.

Thane didn't know what to say, He had never been called hot before and yet here was a group of complete strangers yelling it at him like it was something that happened everyday. Of course Thane didn't believe them, he chalked it up to the alcohol and brushed the compliment off.

"Umm thanks I think." His voice turned more serious as he asked the girls a question. He had to bend down to get to their ear level which proved harder than he thought in the confined space. "What does Kat say about me?"

The girls all giggled to each other in unison, which only left Thane more confused than he already was. He didn't think he had said anything funny.

"You like her don't you!" One of the girls teased and poked him rather hard in the chest.

"What?" Thane was completely knocked off balance by her accusation. "No I don't"

"Yes you do! It's so obvious you do."

"No seriously, I don't"

"Well that's a shame then, because she sure as hell likes you." A mischievous grin crept across the girls face and she stared right into Thane's now saucer sized eyes.

"Crissy you can't say that! She has a boyfriend!"

"What? Its true, you all know it."

"Well clearly yeah, but this guy don't."

Their attention focused back on Thane who was stood completely still. People were being pushed into him but his feet didn't move, only his upper body rolled with the tide as the sea of people moved as one object. He was looking at none of them, just staring straight ahead. His mouth was slightly ajar and his eyes were blank.

Thane's head was buzzing. It was so full of noise and ideas and questions that he couldn't contemplate it. Only one sentence was discernable above the ruckus.

"She sure as hell likes you."

He didn't know how to process that information. In all his eighteen years of life he hadn't yet had to face this. Someone liked him, and not just anyone, but someone he liked as well. He found it hard to believe at first but the way they tried to cover it up was all the convincing he needed. He didn't know how to react, he wanted to leap up into the air and shout but he knew better than that. He wanted to find the highest point in UBA and scream from the top of it. He couldn't help but let a smile appear on his face that slowly grew and grew until he was grinning like an idiot. A hard push on his back snapped him back into the room and he realised that the whole group of girls were now staring at him and whispering again.

"What?" he asked a lot happier than he meant to.

"Awwwww! You're so adorable. You really like her don't you? Oh you're too cute!"

"Speak of the devil." One of the girls pointed over her shoulder subtly as the pink haired girl approached her friends.

"Hey! I thought I told you guys to wait by the speakers, if I'm not drinking you have to at least keep me company." Kat sounded more annoyed than actually irritated when she spoke to the group and she hadn't even noticed Thane yet. He was relived she didn't as he still bore a ridiculous grin which was quickly wiped from his face.

He gazed at her, the single clean piece in an otherwise dirty jigsaw that was the party. She wore a tight black dress that hung down of off one shoulder. It showed off just enough of her thigh to be enticing without being slutty and just enough cleavage to remain alluring without giving the game away. It hugged her body perfectly and made her already stellar arse look fantastic. Thane was surprised at how sexual he was thinking, but she brought it out in him. She wore her hair like normal, which Thane loved, and her eyes were like blue stars in the dark party room.

Kat finally took notice of where the other girls were looking and turned around too see what was so important. Her eyes met Thanes and sparkled like diamonds as she smiled at him.

"Thane!" She brought him down for a huge hug that Thane returned, still a little shaken by the night's revelations so far.

"Where have you been?" Kat continued. "I've been looking everywhere for you, when did you get here? Never mind come-on, come sit down with me"

She grabbed him by the hand and let him off out of the crowd. Thane glanced over his shoulder at the group of drunken girls who were all giving him thumbs up and laughing. They quickly resumed to their night of drinking and dancing before Thane had even looked away. He couldn't help but look down at Kat's hand, gripped around his own. Her hand was soft, delicate and yet it tightly wrapped around his, making sure she didn't loose him as the trudged through the rest of the partygoers.

Soon they arrived to where Thane assumed Kat had been leading him. They entered into a slightly smaller room with its own music. The mood in this room was very different to the party room. The music was chilled out and relaxing unlike the dance music the rest of 573 was listening to. There was only a small scattering of groups, each group peacefully talking amongst themselves and laughing but not even close to the levels of the rest of the party. In one corner, sat on a selection of sofas and chairs, was the group that Kat hung around with around the academy. They all looked dressed up but none of them compared to her. Kat let go of Thanes hand once they grew near and he wanted nothing more than to grab it again straight away but he restrained himself, he could wait.

The closer Thane got the easier it was for him to see people; he knew them all from around the academy and they all smiled or offered a quaint gesture when Kat and him turn up. Except for one rather large guy sitting on the edge of one of the sofas. Mark looked up at Thane with contempt. If looks could hurt Mark's would have punched Thane in the face and then stamped on his balls. Thane didn't look on Mark with any more kindness than he himself was shown but refused to match his stare for fear of accidently challenging Mark to a fight. Kat sat down next to Mark and motioned for Thane to sit on the other side of her. He raised an eyebrow at Kat and then looked at Mark who stared straight through the back of his head. Kat motioned again at the vacant seat and smiled up, instantly breaking any will power Thane had to refuse. He sat down and Kat smiled at him before turning to Mark.

"Hey Mark I'm going to catch up with Thane for a bit now that ok?"

"Yeah sure, whatever. I'm going to get another beer" Mark downed the beer in his hand and walked away without saying another word.

"I'm sorry about him, he doesn't like me talking to other guys really. That's why I've kinda been keeping my distance recently." Kat half looked down into her lap as she spoke but quickly brought her face back up and smiled.

"So how are you finding the party? Drunk yet?"

"Actually I haven't drunk anything at all. I barely got here and your friends in that room basically kidnapped me and forced me to dance against my will. Thanks for that." The blame thinly veiled a layer of sarcasm in Thanes voice that Kat easily picked up on.

"Hey!" She punched him softly in the arm. Thane was suddenly reminded of how his mum and dad acted around each other but quickly pushed them from his mind, this was definitely not the time for them.

"It's not my fault, I didn't even know they would recognise you let alone talk to you. How awkward was it with them?"

"Not great if I'm honest. They were all a bit too drunk to really notice though so it wasn't too bad."

"They weren't that drunk were they?"

"One of them yelled at me that I was hot so yeah quite drunk."

"Oh god yeah they must have been off their faces then." Kat's mouth curled up into a grin and she couldn't help but laugh at her own joke. Thane too laughed. He didn't even bother defending himself, he saw how happy the joke made her and didn't want to ruin it.

* * *

They continued to talk and laugh as the party went on, oblivious to the people coming and going either side of them. As their conversation went on Thane truly relaxed. He let himself go and started talking about personal things and opening up to Kat and in return so did she. He told her about his parents and Garrus while she talked about her childhood. Thane learnt that her parents were no longer together and she lived with her grandparents. He learnt that her favourite colour was ice blue, oddly the same colour as her eyes and he learnt that she had a fear of heights. Thane loved spending time with Kat. She was one of the only people he could be completely open with, no fear of it being used against him or being let out into the grape vine.

He loved spending time with Kat.

He loved Kat.

Somewhere deep at the back of his mind was a small voice yelling "I told you so!" and Thane couldn't blame it. Since the first time he had laid eyes on Kat he had loved her, but he thought things like that only ever happened in old movies. He had kept that voice locked away for so long because of Mark. While Kat and Mark were in a relationship Thane would not intervene. Him and Kat would remain just friends even if it tore him up on the inside.

Thane continued to listen to Kat speak, just relaxing into the grammar she used and the way she spoke. Her words washed over him like gentle ocean surf on a warm day. They took it in turns telling stories of their past. Tales of adventure as kids or getting in to trouble back home, however Kat's stories greatly outnumbered the amount of stories Thane had.

The hours went by like sand through an hourglass but Thane never wanted this night to end. He wanted to stay on that exact sofa with Kat, for the rest of his life and just talk about anything. He wanted to talk until they ran out of words and then stay with each other in silence until time itself stopped, but unfortunately the party was winding down and people were leaving. It was about two o'clock in the morning now and the party was emptying fast. The music had stopped and the dance floor was empty. The group of Kat's friends the two sat amongst slowly stood up and gathered their belongings. Mark returned and spoke at the couple, still engrossed in conversation.

"Kat come on, after party. PRIVATE after party." Mark stared at Thane and he got the message. He wasn't about to mess with a mountain.

"Ok cool." Kat said, looking up at her boyfriend and smiling briefly before returning to Thane.

"Thanks for hanging out with me tonight Thane, I had a really nice time. Good to catch up." She smiled broadly at Thane and brought him in close for a hug. "I'll see you round yeah?"

"Of course, we'll have to organize a day for just us two to hang out."

"Oh I would love that!" Kat yelped excitedly. "Ok, bye Thane."

Kat and Mark left the party along with the rest of their group and Thane shortly followed their lead but made the trip to his own room alone. He unlocked the door and flicked the lights on, the sound of the party still ringing in his ears. He was exhausted; Thane didn't even bother properly undressing before getting into bed. He simply threw his hoodie and shirt on the floor, followed by his jeans and fell into bed still wearing boxers and a t-shirt. The warm mattress cradled his body and the pillow massaged his head sending him with a tender hug off into sleep, happy with how his evening had played out.

* * *

Thane awoke, blurry eyed and unaware to the sound of banging on his door. No one ever knocked on his door let alone at this time. He stumbled around in the darkness, desperately trying to get his bearings after being so rudely awoken. Still the banging continued. He whispered into the darkness.

"If someone isn't dead then shit is going to hit the fan."

The banging carried, regardless of his threats and annoyance. Thane eventually gave up on trying to find his jeans and instead threw on his training pants. Whoever was there would have to deal with whatever state he was in, its their own fault. Thane flicked the light switch on the wall illuminating his room and opened the door ready to scream at however was getting him out of bed. But what he saw stopped him dead in his tracks.

Instead of the drunken frat boy with a wiseass mouth he thought would be outside he was met with a very different sight that tore his heart in two. Standing in his doorway, high heels in hand, mascara running down her face and sobbing slightly, was Kat.


	6. Chapter 6: A Princess Without a Crown

_****Authors notes: Mass effect is the property of BioWare_

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Princess without a Crown**

Thane stared at Kat; he pink pixie cut hair was ruffled and messy. Her mascara was running down her face like jet-black roots. She held the high heels she had been wearing in one hand and the other was wrapped around her waist, closing of her body from the outside world. She was crying too. It was so quiet that unless you were as close to her as Thane was you wouldn't have been able to hear it. Shallow, broken cries escaped her lips with each breath while she fought to hold them back, desperately wanting to hide how venerable she was while her body heaved from the force of holding back such emotion. She wasn't looking at Thane; instead she was staring down at the floor, the occasional tear falling between her bare feet with a soft splash. They hadn't moved since Thane opened the door, nor had they spoken. Thane was still in shock from seeing Kat like this. She was always so strong, confident and fun. Seeing her helpless and broken hurt him. Hurt him more than anything had before. He didn't know how he could help; he didn't even know what was wrong. But whatever made her like this he wanted to fix.

"Do you want to come inside?" Thane asked tentatively, trying to sound as soothing as possible. After a long silence Kat finally answered.

"I don't know." Was all he got through rasped breaths and gently sobs.

There was another long pause while Thane assessed the situation. Kat definitely wasn't in the mood for their usually sarcastic jokes, even Thane with his limited exposure to people could tell that. He didn't think she wanted to be pressured under the circumstances either so chose not to ask her again. Instead he decided to use something his father had taught him.

* * *

Thane started high school normally, not caring about girls. But when he got older, like many boys at his age, he started to notice girls. Within the space of a few months they turned from things to make fun off and annoy to strange, beautiful creatures. He knew nothing about them at that age. He tried to talk to the girls at school but they were different from the boys. They were like aliens; a whole different species to boys and Thane couldn't understand them. The famous Commander Shepard had come to pick him up from school one day and saw his young son trying to talk to a group of girls. He raised an eyebrow as the girls laughed and ran away from Thane.

"Thane, why were you talking to the girls?" Shepard asked casually.

"Because they are cool and I want to be friends with them." Thane replied with child-like innocence, staring up into his dad's deep eyes.

"Ha good boy." The commander ruffled his son's hair. "You know, you can't make friends with girls the same way you do with boys Thane. Girls don't think the same way we do. A good idea to you might be a terrible plan in their eyes, and they are usually right." Shepard smiled down at Thane as they walked to the shuttle.

"Each girl will think differently and respond differently. Take your mother for instance. Now I love that woman with all my heart but damn she can be difficult, and during the war she did her best to make it hard for me to get close. But I did. Your mother had a terrible childhood; some very bad people did very bad things to her and she still hasn't totally recovered to this day but while we were fighting I did my best to help her through it."

Your mother didn't…" Shepard paused; carefully thinking over how to phrases the next part, "respond well to the overbearing approach. If I was being to forward or crowding her she would politely let me know with some choice words or a left hook. So instead of trying to comfort her with hundreds of hugs and soft words I learnt to give her room and let her come to me. I showed her I cared for her but let her have space when she needed it, when she needed me though I was always there, no questions asked. Slowly she let me in as she began to trust me and I was able to give her the loving comfort she needed, but we had to get through the walls first. Do you get what I'm saying here Thane?"

There was a blank look on Thanes face as he stared at his dad. All that information at once was a lot to take in for him and most of it had gone straight over his head, leaving only brief sentences and words in his mind.

Shepard smiled and sighed.

"Ok, basically I'm saying that some girls might not want to be smothered. To make friends with some girls, you might have to let them have their space for a while before you can be friends. You understand me know?"

Thane nodded this time, understanding what his father meant but not taking it into account.

"None of the girls at school were like his mum." Thane thought. "They weren't covered in tattoos. Dad was silly"

* * *

Maybe Kat was one of these girls his father had been talking about all those years ago. It was worth a try, he had nothing else to do and they had been standing in his doorway now for five minutes.

"It's ok if you don't want to come in. I'm going to go in and sit down inside. I'll be right in here if you need me, ok?"

Thane got no response but though he saw Kat nod ever so slightly so turned around slowly and walked into the dimly lit room. He sat down on the sofa, and looked at the shadow cast by Kat standing in the doorframe. Even her shadow looked sad. It moved rhythmically in time with her breaths and sobs and swayed shuddered slightly with each new breath.

A few minutes passed and Thane grew anxious. Maybe she was putting on this façade and really did want to just be held and comforted. Thane moved to get up and rush over to her but movement from the corner of his eye rooted him to the sofa. Kat's shadow moved further into the room, folding over anything in its way. It grew larger as it crept into the room, gliding unopposed over trinkets and furniture. At it's base stood Kat. She closed the door behind her and the powerful shadow faded as the light from behind was shut out.

Kat now stood in Thane's room, small and helpless. She looked exhausted, like she could break down and collapse at any moment. The hand holding her high heels shook independently from her body and her eyes were still fixed on the floor. She dared not walk any further afraid she was not welcome.

Thane was still speechless. He hurt more seeing her inside. The sight of such a small girl stood in such a large room by herself threatened to tear him in half. A princess without a crown stood in front of him, a distraught beauty. Thane wanted so much to hold her, but as Kat had come in by herself he decided to wait for her to get relaxed and make the first move. Minutes passed but Kat eventually broke the silence.

"I don't know why I'm here."

"I wasn't going to ask."

"Thank you."

They stayed in silence for another five minutes or so, Thane watched Kat closely to try and find anything that would tell him what she was thinking. To his surprise though she shifted her weight and slowly, silently walked over to the sofa he was sat on. She placed her shoes on the floor and sat as far away from Thane as she could, legs together with her hands resting on her knees. Thane admired her composure. She had been crying for what he suspected was a long time but since he had opened his door she hadn't broken down once. Yes she was quietly sobbing occasionally but it was steady at least. Kat's whimpers had gotten quieter since she came into the room and her breathing had steadied. She still took in a shaking breath once and a while but held it together.

Kat stayed in her sitting position not moving, looking down into her lap for a few minutes. Thane had lost count; right now to him time didn't matter. Kat took a long, rattling breath in and exhaled like a large weight had been lifted off of her chest. She brought her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, tying her body into a small ball. She moved her fringe behind her ear and rested her forehead on her knees, the angle causing the hair to fall back down.

"Why can't things be simple?"

It had been so long since either of them had spoken that Thane would have jumped at her words if Kat hadn't spoken in the softest voice he had ever heard. It was barely more than a whisper on the wind.

"Because if it was then what would be the point?" Thane replied, almost certain he was quoting a very bad film he had seen a long time ago.

"Don't talk bullshit Thane." Her words were completely devoid of emotion. "Seriously, for once in my life why can't things just go right?"

Thane realised now that he knew nothing of Kat's life before the academy. They never talked about the past in class and at the party they had only laughed at Kat's stories of drunken friends. All he knew about Kat's true personal life was that she didn't like to be called Katherine now was not the time to ask though. It was clear to Thane that Kat was on a knife-edge. One wrong comment from him could send her spiralling off the wrong side and down to somewhere he didn't want to see. Thane mulled over his words, picking each one and checking it twice before talking again.

"Things don't go right for you because…" His carefully constructed sentenced shattered around him and collapsed to the floor in a pile of broken English and punctuation. Kat had looked up at him when he started talk, her ice blue eyes were red and bloodshot, tears were welling up and her mascara lines were smudged from placing her head on her knees. Even now Thane thought she looked beautiful.

"… Because life is full of walls." Thane's words took on a mind of their own and he talked without thinking again.

"You're a beautiful, amazing, funny person Kat. You're the most generous and kind person I have ever met and you don't deserve any of this, you're too good for all this pain and sadness. Life is hard, it is. But it can also be wonderful. To get through the bad you have to grab onto the things that make getting up in the morning bearable and never let them go."

It's a good thing Thane stopped counting because time seemed to stand still the moment he finished. Kat stared into him with eyes that glowed, their beauty matched only by the sadness they portrayed. Thane held his tongue, fearing he had said the wrong thing. Maybe she wasn't looking for encouragement, maybe she wanted another soul to sympathise with her. Thane's mind was yelling but his body was quiet like Kat's. Neither of them moved nor spoke. Thane wasn't sure if they even breathed. It seemed like an eternity had passed by in the dim light of Thane's room before Kat finally blinked. Her eyes had welled up and looked down, tears rolling down her cheeks. Thane heard gentle, whispering cries. He remained silent, frozen somewhere between fear and anxiety. Kat raised her head to look at Thane again and tried to mouth words but no sound came, she chocked back a sob and looked down again. Composing herself with a shuddering breath she returned to Thane's brown eyes. Kat moved quickly and silently across the sofa, faster than Thane could comprehend. She brought her left hand up to Thane's cheek and moved in close to him. With one swift motion she brought her lips up to his and kissed him softly on the lips.

Thane's mind went from a busy freeway of thoughts to a ghost town. Nothing crossed his mind at all, no worries, no clever remarks, no self-doubt, nothing. He had been taken off guard by her actions but his senses returned quickly and he was flooded with questions. Was he dreaming? Had Kat actually just kissed him? Why was she kissing him? All good questions but Thane wasn't searching for answers, he was lost in the moment, no matter how fleeting.

He could feel the tears that had ran down her cheek, he could fell her breath coming in ragged, torn inhales and he could hear her heart beating away at the inside of her chest. Her lips were warm and soft, smooth like he couldn't imagine and comforting. In contrast he could feel the cold hard metal of her nose ring against his skin, reminding him he wasn't dreaming. He felt so close to her in the one moment, like nothing else in the world matter. That brief kiss was a perfect moment in Thanes eyes. But suddenly it was broken.

Kat's eyes snapped open and she pulled away from the kiss, pressing slightly against Thanes chest to move away. She tried to be strong but could no longer hold back her emotions; Thane could see it all in her eyes. Those icy blue pearls spoke what she never could; she needed help. Kat was completely helpless and lost. Nothing made sense to her anymore and she couldn't take it. Thane put his arm round her back and gently pulled her into his chest. She did not protest; she simple broke down. Tears streamed down her face as she cried like she had been wanting to all night. Thane held her close as she sobbed into his chest, her arms wrapped around him and her hands clenching fistful of his shirt, in that moment she never wanted to let go.

Kat's crying continued into the early morning, her sobs slowly weakening to whimpers as she became tired. Neither of them had spoken, there was no need to. Thane simply held her to him while she cried, protecting her from whatever it was she was scared of. Eventually even Kat's whimpers faded away and she remained silent. Thane could feel her rhythmically breathing in and out, she had used up all the emotion she had left and had finally fallen asleep, exhausted beyond belief. Thane took a moment to check she was fully asleep before carefully moving around and picking Kat up. He carried her like precious cargo towards the free bed and placed the sleeping girl down softly. He pulled the duvet over her shoulders and she relaxed into the mattress. Thane smiled at her, she still looked beautiful even in sleep and it amazed him. He took his own leave and crossed the room to his bed, removing his training pants as he did so and fell back into bed, being careful not to wake Kat. Sleep took him instantly and he fell into the void of slumber he knew all too well.

* * *

When Thane finally stirred it was almost noon. Umbra's sun was high in the sky and the light it gave shone through the open window into his room illuminating the clothes littering the floor and the thrown aside rubbish. He was so tired he had slept without dreaming, a peaceful rest that he desperately needed after last night's emotional bombardment.

Last night.

He bolted upright and swung his head around to look at the bed he had placed Kat in after she fell asleep. The bed was empty but the covers were ruffled and Kat's dress lay neatly folded on the floor next to it. Thane wasn't shocked to see and empty bed but he was to see Kat's dress. He hadn't expected her to stay, why would she? Thane would have liked an explanation but from the state Kat had been in he wouldn't have judged her for leaving without a word. But if the dress was here she clearly hadn't left, unless walking through the academy naked was her style, which despite Thane's hopes he doubted it was. Just when the riddled started to annoy him he caught sight of someone wearing a teal hoodie sitting on his sofa, quietly reading a magazine he had left lying around. Sure enough it was Kat in all her pixie cut, pink haired glory.

It took Thane a second or two but he finally realised what she was wearing. Just like that the cogs in his head clicked into place. Kat was wearing his hoodie and some tight black shorts; clearly the dress she wore last night didn't suit everyday dress code. Although still unsure about how he stood with Kat after last night he couldn't help but notice how good she looked in his hoodie. It was baggy on her and long so the sleeves were too large, only the tips of her fingers were showing as she flicked though the magazine. The hoodie didn't stick to her figure like what she normally wore but instead covered her body, ending below the cut off point of her shorts so that from the side it looked as if she was wearing nothing else. She had the zip done up about three quarters so a triangle of skin could be seen showing off her collar bones and neck but ending just short of her cleavage. She looked adorable in his hoodie, comfortable and soft like a massive, furry creature was hugging her.

Kat caught Thane's eye as he looked at her and she smiled. But it wasn't her usual angelic smile, the smile felt forced to Thane and was rife with uncertainty. She put the magazine down on the sofa and walked over to Thane's bed, carefully sitting down on the edge furthest away from him. Something wasn't right.

"Thane…" Kat began, breathing slowly as she did so. "Thank you so much for last night, I was a complete wreck and it means so much that you were there for me. Mark and I had a fight and I was so worn out that I just couldn't hold it together on my own. So yeah… thanks" She looked to Thane and gave him a half smile.

Thane opened his mouth to talk but Kat interrupted him before he even started.

"I'm sorry that I… I'm sorry that I kissed you." Thane's stomach burned, why was she sorry?

"I didn't know what I was doing and I was so confused and tired I just acted without thinking and it wasn't supposed to happen and-" Kat stopped babbling long enough to take a breath and looked at Thane.

"I'm so sorry Thane, but do you think we could pretend it never happened?"

Thane felt like he had been punched in the gut. He finally got to kiss the girl he'd been dreaming of and she wanted to pretend it never happened? How could this be happening? He didn't know what he thought would happen in the morning but he definitely didn't think it would go this way. Thane's mind swept through any files it had on what was going on. He had never seen a holo where the guy finally got the girl and then she tried to erase it from history. He thought he would wake up in the morning as someone's boyfriend, not as a mistake to be swept under the rug and never talked of again. The question had sideswiped Thane so badly he couldn't bring himself to express any objections or argue his case. His insides were screaming at him to tell her how he felt but all he could do was gingerly nod his head in acceptance of her terms. Yet again, like a coward, he had shut his feelings inside, to scared of getting hurt to risk a chance at happiness.

Kat smiled falsely again when Thane agreed and nodded her head to mimic him. She let out a nervous laugh.

"Ok thank you Thane. You're truly wonderful. Is it ok if I borrow this hoodie? A party dress might be a little bit of a give away to any teachers walking the halls" Thane meekly nodded again and Kat stood back up and walked over to her dress and shoes. Picking them up she walked to the door, turning to look at Thane again before she left.

"Thank you Thane. Honestly, you're a true friend" She opened the door and like that she was gone.

Thane was left in the gripping silence of his lonely room once again, still in disbelief of what had just happened. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly, trying to comprehend how he had gone from Kat kissing him last night to now, where he was little more than a shameful secret. Thane collapsed back onto his bed, pushing his palms into his eyes and groaning to himself. He brought his arms crashing down to his sides and stared up at the ceiling, going over what had just happened in his mind. Thane came to the realisation that he had effectively blown any chance of being any more than friends with Kat and his insides knotted into balls.

Thane suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to vomit and rushed to the bathroom, his headed swimming from getting up to fast. He collapsed on to his knees in front of the toilet but didn't throw up. The feeling stayed but no sign of illness, his insides simply burned and heaved with every breath. He gave into the fact that this is how having you're heart broken must feel and turned away from the toilet. Thane was now sitting cross-legged in the centre of his bathroom, staring down at his feet without moving, without even thinking. He stayed like that, suspended in time with and thoughtlessness for half an hour before eventually standing up.

Thane ran himself a shower and stripped off, stepping into the warm water and sighing as it hit his skin, trickling down his body in disjointed steams. The water was soothing and he felt like he was rinsing away his troubles, like nothing else mattered while he was under its flow. That was until he reached for his ice blue shower gel and Kat was brought back into his mind like a searing hot lobotomy spike. Thane snapped, his mind crumpling under the weight of what had been thrown at it in under twenty-four hours and his body sparked with biotic energy. Blue flares flew around his body and from deep within him, a mighty cry started. Thane closed his eyes and yelled out, loud and strong into the humid air of the bathroom. He raised a fist and punch the tiled wall of the shower with all his strength. The tiles cracked and split, ruptures running along them and a crater formed where he had slammed his biotic assisted fist. Loose tiles gave way and splinted as they hit the floor.

Thane stood panting, his eyes still closed. His body was still covered in blue electricity and occasionally a flare would extend from him, burning any surface it touched. Thane took a deep breath and calmed himself, bringing the rampaging biotic energy surrounding his body down to a dim glow surrounding his body before shorting it out entirely. He opened his eyes and looked at the dent in the wall in front of him. There was bare wall showing through the holes in the tile surface and pieces littered the shower floor. Thane looked at the knuckles on his right hand, bloodied and bruised in spite of the biotic energy he had used to protect himself.

"Pull yourself together you fucking moron" Thane whispered to the empty room.

He got out and dried himself off taking special care not to use his right hand, which was still bleeding and tender. He riffled through the medicine cabinet before finding some medi-gel and carefully soothed his injured hand. He heard his terminal beeping at him from the other room and stuck his head around the doorframe to inspect what it was being so loud about. He could see the symbol for a holo call flashing and groaned; he wondered if the person calling would answer in his situation. Thane dragged his feet along the ground to see who it was, the caller ID was showing the name "Jack" and Thane's eyebrow lifted. He put on some boxers and a shirt and answered the call.


	7. Chapter 7: What's Stopping You?

****_ Authors note: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare_

* * *

**Chapter 7: What's stopping you?**

"Hey mum." Thane said as he answered Jacks call, trying to sound as natural as possible. It didn't come easy having just been through one of the most harrowing experiences of his short life.

"Bout god damn time Thane, been waiting fucking ages for you to answer." Jack's soft voice masked the curse words as if they were normal to Thane, or maybe he had just spent too much time around her to notice them anymore. Thane forced a smile.

"Sorry, I've just gotten out the shower. What did you call me for?"

"No reason really, just thought id see how you're doing. No more trouble from those shitty kids right? Because I'll still come down and rip them apart, been aching for something to fuck up recently, gets boring being cooped up alone after a while ya know?"

"Where's dad gone?" Asked Thane inquisitively. Shepard rarely left Jack alone unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Oh I dunno, some Alliance bullshit. He's speaking to some new general or something." Jack shrugged and rested he hands on her hip. "The guy's got nothing on Hackett though, this one time… Hey! Are you even listening to me or shall I just talk to the fucking wall?"

Thane had been staring off past the holo and out of his window into the calm Umbra sky, absorbed in his own thoughts of the morning's occurrences still. He blinked in rapid succession at his mother's words and looked back towards the holo.

"Oh shit sorry mum. I'm just… never mind. What were you saying again, something about an admiral?" Thane tried covering up how distant he looked but Jack saw right through him.

"You're just what? If something's wrong tell me kid so I can destroy it!" She raised a fist at the holo and threatened the air.

As much as Thane wanted to talk to his mum about Kat and the morning he had had he couldn't bring himself to. He told his mum everything, she was his closest friend but the one thing she couldn't do was sensitive. Whenever he needed to talk to someone about that he had turned to his dad but now he was away there was no-one, well There was Jack but that was sometimes worse than no-one.

"No it's not that, I'm fine honestly, don't worry about me" Thane gave his mother another fake smile to accompany his lie.

"No fucking way. I'm not stupid Thane and I am your mother, it's kinda my fucking job to worry about you. So spill or ill fly over there and beat it out of you."

Thane raised an honest smile for the first time that day; Jack always had a way of making him smile. He weight up his options and summarized that although it wasn't perfect, he had to get all his baggage off his chest and Jack was easily the person he trusted most with it. He just hoped she could take it.

"Ok ok, if you really want to know, I'm having girl trouble."

Jack's face turned from the mischievous grin she normally wore to a something that resembled a shocked deer in headlights. She was silent for a few seconds, her eyes were wide and he mouth slightly open. She shook her head trying to rid her face of the expression and tried to respond to her son.

"Ummm ok well uhhh. What… what sort of troubles? Is it fucking or proper… proper sensitive mushy bullshit?" Jack stumbled on her words and stuttered, very unlike the beautiful biotic. "Because well, I don't know shit about feelings and stuff... you're much better off with your father for that, the man's a pussy."

Thane smiled, half at his mother's casual insults towards his father and half at the obvious discomfort he had put her under. Jack shifted from side to side slightly as she spoke and ran her hand over her faux hawk style hair cut, glancing down at the ground and back up to the holo of Thane before letting her eyes wander all around the room she was in. She folded her arms across her chest and blew a loose strand of hair out of her face and pouted.

"Well? Come on Romeo spit it out, I aint got all day to stand around chatting with your sorry ass."

"The mushy bullshit that you love so much mum." Thane answered, smiling again at her reaction.

"Shit. Ummm well girls… girls like… flowers? Oh who are we kidding I don't fucking know what girls like, look at me. I'm more a man than your father is."

"Yeah he'd agree with you there" Thane laughed as Jack smirked and gave him her signature grin again.

"Sorry I can't be of any help Thane, I never got to experience any of this lovey-dovey teenage love crap. When Shepard finally gets his fat ass home I'll have him call you."

Thane smiled slightly at the flickering image of his mother.

"No actually you have helped, thanks mum."

"Fuck you're a weird kid Thane." Laughed Jack. "Right I better be off, stay safe."

"You too mum, bye."

The hologram of Jack faded out of sight and left only a dull glow from the projector bellow it. Thane switched it off and wandered over to his bed. He fell backwards into the warm covers and clasped his hands over his face. Jack had made him smile and lifted his mood but he was still clueless about what to do with his feelings for his pink haired addiction.

* * *

Kat closed the door to Thanes room behind her and exhaled a long breath she had been holding. She closed her eyes for a second and breathed deeply, both to calm her frivolous nerves and to compose herself. She hated leaving Thane like that. Last night had been such a disaster; she didn't even know why she had gone to Thane's room in the first place.

"Yes you do, don't lie to yourself"

"Shut. Up!" Kat violently whispered to herself, trying to discourage the voice inside her head.

She had gone to Thane's room because she needed a FRIEND. Her and Mark had just had a silly fight and she was upset, she needed comfort from a friend. All she wanted was some company right? Yeah that was it. Just someone to comfort her while she cried, it was just coincidence that she had gone to Thane and not one of her other friends.

"But it wasn't coincidence was it?"

Kat growled in the back of her throat, angered by her own thoughts. She pushed them back, back deep into the darkest corners of her subconscious, certain that if she ignored them they would go away. But they refused, exploding even more vividly into her mind.

"Why do you do this? It's obvious you have feelings for him, why are you so scared of them?"

"Because I'm with Mark." The rational side of Kat's brain argued, it was blunt and straight to the point.

"So? You've already kissed Thane, the damage is done"

A small tear started to well up in Kat's eye as she remembered what she had done. She felt awful about it, how could she do that to Mark? And to Thane as well, she had ruined her relationship with two of the people closet to her. Her eyesight began to blur and she felt the flood of tears coming but fought back, wiping her eye with the sleeve of Thane's hoodie. No, no she couldn't cry. Not out here with strangers, they wouldn't understand and try to help, she didn't need their help she just wanted to be alone. She breathed shakily and felt her tears subside as her vision returned.

"It's ok thought, because no one will ever know it happen. I'll just pretend it never happened, that's fine right?" Kat questioned the rational side of her brain now, unsure whether it was on the side of reason or simply trying to keep her calm.

"It doesn't matter if you pretend it never happened because it did. And what's worse is that you liked it, it felt right to you didn't it?"

"SHUT UP! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Kat scrunched her face up and screamed inwardly to herself, trying to force herself to just stop thinking.

"I'm with Mark! I like him, I can't just throw that away."

"You like Thane more though, admit it to yourself Kat, come on it's obvious he likes you too."

She wasn't going to let her mind fool her.

"No he doesn't. He was fine with keeping it a secret as well, probably because he doesn't want to associate himself with someone as emotionally unstable as you. You turned up crying for fuck sake."

"Yet he still comforted you."

Kat's mind stayed quiet for a second as if anticipating a counter argument but none came.

"You were at his door crying and instead of pushing you away he welcomed you. He has always been kind and loving to you, why can't you see. He likes you and you like him, what's stopping you?"

"Because I'm with Mar-"

"Don't start with that bullshit." Kat interrupted her own thought; she pondered whether that was actually possible for a split second before continuing.

"You and Mark are barely a couple, he only see's you when he wants something and it's usually just sex. You know, deep down that you feel more for Thane now than you ever will for Mark, so what is the real reason you can't just go for it?"

There was a pause in Kat's heated argument with herself. She knew the reason why, but refused to think it. It was the same reason she had come to the academy in the first place. Kat hadn't told anyone at UBA yet but she had been one of the last people to accept an invitation to Umbra. Like Thane, Kat saw Umbra as a new start, a way of escaping from her home life but not for the same reason as Thane. Again her mind asked the question.

"Why can't you go for it?"

Kat took a deep breath and answered her own question, whispering so quietly it was not possible to make it out over the background noise of the academy.

"Because you get hurt. Whenever you get close, you get hurt."

The admittance felt like a burning knife had been stuck in to Kat's gut. She hated herself. She hated that she was so scared of being hurt again she couldn't be with the one person she really wanted. She hated her past for interfering with the present, why couldn't she let it all go?

"Look at Cole and Mel, at Dad… look at Mum. No, now is not the time." Her thoughts brought back bad memories she did not want to explore now. Kat had decided that staying detached was the only way to avoid getting hurt. She had close all doors and brought her shutters up to avoid being connected to anyone, that way when things… happened she wouldn't get hurt again. But Thane…

Kat thought about the black haired boy for a second, his vibrant smile, their matching personalities and his beautiful dark brown eyes. She blinked in rapid succession and violently shoved Thane to the edge of her consciousness. He spent a lot of time on the fringes of her mind, pounding at her sealed doors and trying to get his voice heard. But like everyone else, she had to lock him out. She locked him out due to fear, fear she would loose herself in his warmth only to be left in the cold again when it all broke down. Which it would, she was sure of it. She couldn't face more pain; she couldn't risk going through it again.

Kat sighed greatly, realising that the torturous mindset was the only way to deal with the problem. She had no choice; to keep herself safe she had to ignore her feelings. Feelings only led to more pain and she couldn't handle any more pain in her life. Defeated by the solution she had reached, Kat looked up and realised she had also reached her room. Slowly opening the door she peaked in, being careful to check for her roommate Vicky before making her way in. She just wanted to be alone right now and Vicky would do everything in her power to stop that. But Kat needn't have worried; Vicky wasn't going to be a problem. As Kat scanned the room she caught site of her friend, passed out on her bed still holding a bottle of alcohol. It looked as if Vicky had tried to get out of her party dress before falling asleep but failed, as she currently lay on top of her duvet, dress half way up her chest and pink thong on show. The site wasn't pretty but Kat was just grateful she wasn't awake. Quietly Kat snuck into the room and placed her shoes and dress on her bed. She heard a noise from Vicky and looked over in fear but the passed out girl simply mumbled in her sleep and rolled over, letting the empty bottle roll across the floor.

Kat opened the bathroom door stealthily and edged her way inside. She didn't feel like looking at Vicky in the state she was in so the bathroom would have to do. Kat made her way across the room to grab something to sooth her aching head; she now realised how what that much crying could do to you. As she walked towards the medicine cabinet Kat caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror. She stopped abruptly and reversed, keeping her eyes fixed forward. She slowly turned towards the mirror and gazed at her self. Her hair was a mess; the normally smooth pixie cut was sticking up all over the place and her fringe especially stuck out vigorously. Her eyes were red and raw, her checks were pale and her make up was still smudged from the night before. It wasn't her face she noticed however, but her clothes. She had only just remembered she was wearing Thanes teal hoodie and was seeing herself in it for the first time. The colour complemented her light pink hair and brought out her ice blue eyes. Although it wasn't long enough to be considered dress length, (at least by Kat's standards, Vicky may have found it appropriate though) it was a little bit too large for Kat, ending just bellow her crotch. She turned her upper body and looked down her back. She noted to herself that if she weren't wearing any shorts the bottom of her arse cheeks would be clearly visible. Kat looked down at her hands and found them hiding away in the sleeves, small and dainty compared to the long hoodie. She looked down at the borrowed garment in full and did a small pirouette on the spot. She looked back to the mirror to find herself smiling and biting her bottom lip. Kat concluded she looked good; she liked wearing Thane's hoodie an awful lot.


	8. Chapter 8: Bloodshed and Consequences

****_ Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare_

_This chapter is the longest one yet and has a healthy does of action. Let me know what you think of it :)_

* * *

**Chapter 8: Bloodshed and Consequences**

Four days passed before Kat and Thane spoke to each other again. In those four days Kat had purposefully been avoiding Thane, skipping class and eating away from the living area as to minimize the chance of an awkward run in. Kat hated not seeing her friend and ironically it was always Thane that cheered her up, but she couldn't face talking to him, not yet anyway. Her plan was to lay low and hide for a while before attempting to patch up the relationship that in her mind she had torn apart almost beyond repair. Her plan wasn't great, but to her it seemed far easier and safer than attempting an awkward meet up. Safe was what she liked, safe was what she wanted.

Thane didn't want safe. He despised not talking to Kat so much that he had started actively seeking her out. Since Kat left his room he had hated they way they had left it and wanted nothing more than to go back to normal. He didn't care if it was awkward, he was used to awkward, awkward was his style and he rocked it. All he wanted was to have his friend back, even if it was only in that way, a friend.

After making another lap of the academy, through the corridors of the dorms and the beautifully coloured gardens, through the high ceilinged entrance way and past the dedication to UBA's founder Timothy Kore, Thane decided to call it a day and headed back to the living area of the five hundred building. As he walked Thane wondered whether trying to find Kat was the right idea. Maybe this was another time she wanted to be left alone? Thane dismissed the idea reminding himself that Kat had left his room that room with a smile, if she wanted to be left alone she wouldn't have bothered to say goodbye to him at all. He blocked memories of that morning from his mind, the wounds still fresh and raw, they didn't need to be poked with a stick. Thane passed many faces as he walked the stairs to the living area of his building, few of which he recognised and none of which acknowledged him. Thane was surrounded yet alone. He felt like a star viewed from the surfaces of a planet. To someone staring up at space, the night sky is packed with light, each star a fraction away from its neighbor, yet in reality that star they look at is light years away from anything else. Thane was that star. He looked forward as he was passed by, not really paying attention to the people passing. He wondered if they could tell something was wrong with him. Probably not, but in his heart he hoped for a stranger to question him, just to feel close to someone again. Thane reached the top of the stairs and glanced around the room, something caught his eye immediately, a pink so light and fine it stood out like a Volus on a nudist beach. Thane's pulse quickened and he could hear his heart in his ears as his nerves rose. He had found her at last.

Thane felt a rush of emotions at once: joy, anxiety, fear, but mostly relief; relief that he could finally talk to the person that brought him more happiness than anyone else in his life. He practically flew across the room, pushing people out of his way and swerving in between groups. Thane ignored the complaints and insults he received as he swam through the sea towards Kat, her short pink hair bobbing and dipping as she walked. He tried to reach out for her but was buffeted and cut off as a large group passed between the couple. He glared angrily at the intruders as if by walking in front of him they had somehow committed a crime. The group merely scoffed at Thane and continued on their journey, bring forth a quiet curse word from Thanes lips. He turned back to were Kat's pink beacon had been and was horrified to not see it. There was no light leading him on through the crowd anymore and his heart dropped. He scanned the area quickly, desperation taking control of his mind and urging him to keep searching, he wasn't going to wait another four days to speak to Kat. After glancing from left to right he caught sight of her again, ascending the stairs to the dorm rooms. It was only a brief glimpse before she disappeared again but Thane felt warmth flood back into his body. Without a second thought he sprinted to the stairs, eager to find his lost friend.

Thane reached the stairs and rushed up to the floor above, caring not about the protests from other students. He saw Kat in the distance and yelled after her, jogging after he to catch up.

"Kat!"

"Hmm?" Kat was surprised to hear her name and turned around with an eyebrow raised. He eyes widened as she saw Thane approaching and her mid went span up like a mass relay.

"Fuck I'm not ready to talk to him yet, I haven't prepared. What if I make a fool of myself? I bet I'll cry again, jesus I'm a loser. Shit here he comes, what do I say? God his eyes are nice. NO! Damn it Kat focus, say something."

"Umm heylo." Kat grimaced slightly, that wasn't even a real word. Her checks flushed slightly but her face remained calm, smiling at Thane as he approached in spite of the embarrassment knotting up her stomach.

"Did you just say heylo?" Thane asked in an amused tone, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah well you caught me off guard and I wasn't expecting anyone to talk to me and I was surprised to hear your voice…" Kat's babbling trailed off. "It's been a while since I've heard your voice." She said softly before even thinking about it.

"I liked it." Thane said smiling. "It has been a while, sorry. I've been trying to find you but I guess we just kept slipping by each other. I missed you Kat, how have you been? Did you sort out whatever was wrong?"

Kat's mind sparked into life at his words.

"He… he missed me? And he was searching for me this whole time, but why?" Kat felt a small rush of happiness at her thoughts and she brushed her pink fringe behind her ear, letting it fall back in her face as she looked down to the floor slightly and smiled.

"Yeah I have been ok." Kat answered, out loud this time, not letting on that she had secretly missed him as well. "No more crying at least." She ended with a shy smile.

Her attempt at a joke made Thane laugh heartily, which lightened the mood of the conversation slightly.

"It was just a fight between Mark and I again, we've been fighting a lot and it has been getting to me a bit. But it's good now. What about you? Why have you been searching for me?"

"Well-" Thane began to speak before realizing he didn't have an answer, not one he wished to share with Kat at least. "Well we're… friends Kat and surprising though it might seem I like talking to my friends. Plus class is like torture without you there to make me laugh."

Kat blushed for the second time, his compliment making her insides flutter. Her eyes met his deep brown ones for a second before she looked away, embarrassed again.

"Thanks, likewise. I've been pretty bored since… the party."

Thane felt the flow of the conversation slipping back into awkwardness and thought he should say what was on his mind before it got any worse.

"Uhh yeah so… I'm sorry for how I left things that morning. I just wanted to clear the air between us and apologize." Thane swallowed, hoping Kat would accept his apology.

"What? Why are you saying sorry?" Kat asked with a warm laugh.

"I'm the one that burst into you're room and spewed all that crazy everywhere. I should be the one apologizing to you." She smiled up at Thane and was rewarded with a laugh and smile from him as well. Kat paused slightly and looked down to the ground again, speaking far more somber than before.

"I'm sorry I was hiding from you." Kat was sheepish and quiet.

"Hiding? You were hiding from me? Why?" Thane asked softly, matching Kat's voice.

"I was scared that you would hate me and it would be awkward if we talked." Kat was even quieter than before, her eyes still fixed on the floor.

"Hate you? Kat I could never hate you." Thane sounded distressed at her assumption. "I- you're my best friend Kat, I've wanted nothing more than to talk to you since then." Thane couldn't tell if she had noticed his slip up so quickly continued talking to cover it up.

"And don't worry about the other thing, if you're as awkward as me you practically thrive off the stuff."

Kat laughed happily, Surprised by her own actions. It was the first time she had properly laughed in four days and Thane looked ecstatic at her reaction.

"There we go, that's the Kat I know" Thane smiled at the pink pixie haired girl standing in front of him. Her ice blue eyes sparkled with the familiar light that had been sadly absent from them recently. They stood smiling at each other for a few seconds before Kat broke the silence.

"Come on then halo" She strolled past him and turned around, walking backwards with graceful ease and smiled at Thane. "I've hardly been in the living area at all recently, I need a real meal instead of snacks and junk food."

"Halo?" Thane asked, amused. "Is that because I said I liked your dreadful greeting?" Thane mocked in a friendly manner and turned on the spot, following her as she walked past him.

"Yep, you dug your own grave with that one. Now come on, food! Chop chop."

Thane dutifully followed in her wake smiling, proud that he had reestablished their friendship. His mind wandered back to his slip up earlier, he began wondering if Kat had noticed it or guessed what he was going to say. Either way it didn't matter because he wouldn't say it and ruin their friendship even if he really did lo-

"Hey! Your legs don't work or something? Hurry up, I'm starving over here!"

Thane didn't realize he had lagged behind and quickly sped up so that he was walking along beside her.

"Yes your highness."

His sarcastic swipe at her was followed by a real swipe at Thane as Kat lightly punched him in the arm as they walked down to the living area.

* * *

Five days later.

* * *

Nothing overly exciting had happened in Thane's life since he and Kat had smoothed things over. His days at the academy had gone back to there usually mundane ways as he plodded through practices, doing the same exercises over and over again, striving for any improvement in his biotic abilities. Of course now he had Kat's serene voice as a soundtrack to his exercises, spurring him on to do better and surprisingly it worked. Now Kat and Thane were on speaking terms again they had both excelled in their separate skills. With Thane as a sparring partner, Kat was able to perfect her biotic sphere and block all of Thanes attempts to get through it, that is until Thane had shown her a new move he had been working on. Thane had called his new move a "divide" but Kat had dubbed it the "biotic scythe" which caught on a lot quicker. It involved focusing biotic power into a sideways swipe, like a shockwave, but condensing the height to a few centimeters. This resulted in a horizontal arc of power that was so condensed and thin that it acted as a razor and slice through objects in its wake. Clearly Thane hadn't used the full power of the move on Kat but it still shattered her barrier and drew a curious look from the other students around.

With Kat and Thane as friends again it seemed like everything was going right in Thane's life for once so, much like before, he decided against complicated their relationship by getting feelings involved. Not speaking with Kat for four days had been hell; he didn't want to know what not speaking to her for any longer would be like. Although he could muffle his feelings, he could never truly silence them and each morning he would wake up alone in his bed, wishing more than he ever had that Kat would be sleeping next to him, but she never was. This morning was no different.

Thane sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing his face with his hands to try and wake himself up. He didn't mind mornings but still hated getting up as much as the next teenager. After a quick trip to the bathroom for a shower Thane put on his usually attire of simple jeans and a t-shirt and headed out. He had been going without a hoodie for over a week now and was starting to get withdrawal symptoms. Kat still had his hoodie from the morning after the party and Thane couldn't bear to take it away from her. He told himself that because he had lent her the hoodie, it would be rude to ask for it back without any need for it. In reality though he didn't ask for it back because he loved the thought of Kat wearing his hoodie. The thought of a girl walking around wearing his hoodie made his stomach flutter, and the fact that the girl in question was Kat made it do back flips. Thinking on it Thane realized it was pathetic, but he loved the fact she chose to wear his hoodie over her own clothes, it made him feel wanted.

Thane continued his walk to breakfast, slightly chilled by the temperature of the academy and soon found himself in the living area. He wasn't really hungry so chose to simply grab an apple and a drink instead of queuing for the full breakfast platter. He looked around the room for Kat but she was nowhere to be seen, but it was before eleven so she was probably still asleep. Thane saw Rick, Steve and Lindsey sitting down around a table laughing and headed over, smiling at his friends. The group looked up as Thane approached and Steve pulled out a chair beside him for the newcomer.

"What was all the laughing for?" Thane asked as a greeting.

"Well actually we were just talking about that Mark guy, don't know if you've met him, he has a girlfriend called Kitten or something?" The sarcasm in Lindsey's voice was thick and clear, a proud grin crept onto her face as she teased Thane.

"Ha ha very clever, I think I know of the man-tank." Thane mocked in return. "What about him?"

Steve answered for Lindsey who was sat on his lap, gnawing her way through a bread roll, her mouth full.

"Rick was wondering if he has any tops that actually fit him properly or if they are all meant for teenage girls."

Thane was drinking at the time and the comment took him by surprise. He laughed and immediately choked on his mouthful of juice prompting Rick to reach over and pat Thane hard on the back. Steve had a fair amount of force behind his hands and quickly freed up Thanes breathing, but not before knocking all the wind out of him. The others round the table simply laughed as Thane gasped for breath though a smile and regained his composure, still laughing slightly at Rick's joke.

"Speak of the devil, here comes the mountain himself." Lindsey had spotted Mark approaching from her vantage point atop Steve's knee.

Like a shark swimming through a school of fish, the crowd of people in the living area shuffled backwards as Mark and his friends walked through. The grouped masses didn't need to be told to move, it was written al over Marks face, he wore an expression that you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy, He was out for blood and new exactly where to find it. His burning eyes were fixed on Thane and his steps seemed to speed up as he approached the table his pray resided.

"YOU FUCKING ARSEHOLE!"

Mark smashed his fists onto the table as if to draw attention to himself but he needed no such thing. All eyes in the living area were on him; his hulking form was bent over the table and he was staring directly into Thane's eyes, now wide from surprise.

"Wh- What?" Thane tentatively asked nonplused by what had just happened.

"You heard me you little shit, you're an arsehole!" Mark's voice was quieter than before but his tone remained just as fiery.

"I- I'm sorry but I haven't done anything to you. I've literally no idea why you're so angry with me" Thane was genuinely perplexed by Mark's rage but spoke as calmly as possible as to try and avoid a beating.

"Don't play dumb with me you wanker. Me and Kat had a talk last night and she reveled an interesting little fact to me, any idea what it could have been?" Mark's face was now mere inches from Thanes and his voice had gotten, if possible, even angrier.

"…shit" Thane whispered as he finally cottoned on to what Mark was grasping at. Thane gulped as his stomach hit the floor and the colour drained out of him, Kat couldn't have told him about the night of the party, could she?

"Oh yeah, shit is right fucker. And now this is happening" Mark spat his words at Thane like poison and lunged across the table at him, grabbing Thane by the neckline of his T-shirt and pulling him too his feet. Lindsey leapt off of Steve's lap as he jumped up to accompany Rick who had gotten up a second early. The three of them moved to Thanes aid but were grabbed by the group Mark had brought with him. Each one was held back by two of Mark's goons, each one built like Mark himself, large, strong and not to be fucked with. Rick, Steve and Lindsey could barely struggle against their captures as they looked on helplessly at their friend, now held aloft by Mark's brute strength alone.

Thane was dangling feebly in the air, grasping at Marks wrists to support his own body weight. His assailant glared down at him, a wicked smile crawling across his face. Mark was like a Varren toying with his pray, completely in control. Mark now addressed the crowd, showboating like a pro athlete with a prize.

"Do you want to know what this shit eater did? This, pathetic excuse for a human got off with MY GIRL!" The crowd drew breath and whispered amongst themselves; hushed rumors and theories were already beginning circulation. Mark continued.

"This prick right here thinks that he can just go around and make out with my property. Do you not know who I am? Are you a fucking moron? She is MINE and no one else's!"

Thane was able to get out four words whilst trying to keep himself from being chocked.

"She's not your property."

There was a brief pause after Thane spoke, neither Mark nor anyone else though he would speak up.

"What did you say?" Mark's voice was now almost a whisper, stern and chilling in Thanes ear.

"She isn't yours." Thane chocked. "You don't own her."

"Actually she is mine." Mark was triumphant now; the same wicked smile adorned his face as he reassured his position as the apex predator. His next sentence was hushed so that only Thane could hear. His smile grew crueler.

"And I will never. Ever. Let you have her."

Thane closed his eyes and the room seemed to freeze in time. Mark's words slithered their way through Thane's ears and into his mind. Those foul words burnt every aspect of Thanes being and the overwhelming feeling to throw up hit him again. His stomach was knotted and his brain was reeling. From deep within his body Thane felt an emotion he had never truly felt before. His palms started to sweat and his teeth clenched together. This new emotion cleaned out Thanes mind of any loose thoughts and focused all his energy towards its own goals. Thane was no longer shocked by what Mark had done and he was no longer scarred of what might happen to him. All that was left was anger. Thane was going to make this bastard pay for how he treated Kat, or he was going to go down trying.

Thane opened his eyes and the room spun back up to speed. Even with his newfound anger he couldn't stop the hurtling fist aimed at his gut. Mark's punch connected with Thanes abdomen and sent him flying to the floor a few feet away from his attacker. The power and strength Mark was known for was not an illusion and Thane felt deflated and winded from a single punch. Thane staged to his feet, his legs shaking slightly from the impact he had received but he stood firm. Thane looked up at Mark's face as the juggernaut walked slowly towards him.

"You should have stayed down dipshit."

Mark brought his right fist in for another punch and this time found Thane's chin. The smaller student was still shaken by the initial assault and so unable to block in time. The sheer ferocity of Mark's swing staggered Thane and he fell backwards on to a near by table, clutching at his jaw, a large gash had appeared where mark had hit him.

The Krogan sized biotic smiled at the sight of his opponents blood, Mark relished the thought of injuring Thane, putting the son of famous war hero Commander Shepard in hospital would be the greatest pick-up line in history.

Thane blinked a few times quickly. He was dazed and his face was throbbing from the abuse it had received. He groans to himself, questioning why he had gone against all reason and logic to try and fight the monster before him. The anger within him bubbled up again. It was because of this monster that he wanted to fight. He was fighting on behalf of Kat; fighting for all the times this dick had treated her as anything less than perfect. Thane's eyes narrowed and he was filled with a rush of adrenaline. His arm reached out and sparked with blue flames, his biotics coming into play instantly. He grabbed a glass with his mind and it was engulfed in a blue aura that threatened to burn anyone near it. Thane looked towards Mark and saw that realization in his eyes.

"You little fu-"

Mark was cut off as he raised his arms to block his face from the flying object. The glass hit his forearm and shattered around him, sending glass shards and orange juice cascading around him. Mark recoiled as a shard cut through his T-shirt and dug into his shoulder causing him mild irritation. He grunted as he pulled the glass from his arm leaving a slowly growing red patch as a reminder of Thanes attack.

"Well well, the pussy's got some claws." Mark sounded surprised as he gazed upon the wound in his shoulder but remained cool and authoritative.

"You're gonna regret that you scrawny little shit. Why are you even fighting back? Do you actually think you can win? Just lie down on the floor like a dog."

Thane whipped some of the blood off his chin and locked eyes with Mark.

"Why Kat agreed to go out with you I'll never understand." Thane's voice was soft and calm despite the circumstances.

"What? I'm kicking the shit out of you and that's what you're thinking?"

"Yeah I am." Thane replied, smiling ever so slightly as he saw Mark caught of guard for the first time.

"You're such a wanker Mark and she…" Thane didn't see the point in hiding his feelings now seeing as his teeth might be scattered across the floor in a matter of minutes. "Kat is perfect. She is the best person I have ever met and you have never deserved her. You never will. I know your kind Mark; I've dealt with them my whole life. People hang around with you because they don't want to be your enemy, not because they like you. Being the wonderful person she is Kat saw through you're macho exterior and wanted to know the real you, she believed there was good on the inside because she refuses to give up on people. But you know what? She was wrong. On the inside you're just as putrid and foul as the outside. You're an egotistical, unintelligent, prick Mark and no one likes you."

Mark stood in silence, his wicked grin had faltered and faded from his face at the unexpected outburst. Thane's eyes twinkled as his anger saw a chance to twist the knife in Mark's mind. Thane smile grew wicked looking at the frozen powerhouse and he lowered his voice so only Mark could hear.

"You know I'm right Mark. Why else would Kat have kissed a scrawny little fuck like me instead of you?"

Thane instantly knew he had overstepped the line with that last comment because almost as soon as the words had left his mouth, Mark's expression changed from shock and confusion to pure rage. His eyes seemed to close over, blinded by a primal anger from deep within him. Mark's breathing intensified and he yelled in a deep guttural voice, overflowing with his despise for Thane.

"I'M GOING TO RIP YOU LIMB FROM FUCKING LIMB!"

Mark's body exploded into a blue hue of flames that spat and licked around him, threatening to reach out and attack anyone close. With an almighty grunt Mark forced his arms towards Thane, palms facing his enemy and sent a surge of biotic energy at him. Thane was quick on his feet and dived out of the way but he was still caught on his hip by the blast. The force threw him backwards into the crowd still surrounding the sparring pair. Strangers tried to help the battered biotic up but withdrew themselves when Thane too erupted into a field of blue power.

Without thinking Thane fired a shockwave back at Mark, his powers fuelled by anger, pain and adrenaline. The edges of his sight blurred and a dark blue haze hung over his peripheral vision but his aim was true. Mark was not nearly as nimble as Thane so could only brace himself against the blast coming towards him. It connected with his barriers with a thump and staggered the man mountain onto his knees. Before Mark could recover a tray full of breakfast supplies crashed into his face with a toe-curling crunch. Mark's nose was broken and blood dripped down his lips, an occasional drop splattering on the cold floor of the living area.

Thane and Mark now stood facing each other in a ring of students. If any teachers knew what was going on they wouldn't be able to get through to them, and Thane didn't want them too. He wanted Mark to pay for making Kat cry, she shouldn't be crying because of anyone, let alone this arsehole.

Thane was rudely jerked back to the real world by what sounded like a table being dragged across the floor. To his dismay it was. Mark had grabbed onto the nearest table with his biotic powers and, fueled by rage, wrenched it from the floor and sent it siding across the room towards Thane. He acted out of instinct. Without thinking Thane slammed a biotic fist into the closest edge of the table as it scrapped towards him at a lightning pace. The force of his punch slowed the advancing furniture and flipped it onto its side, blocking the biotic throw Mark had sent following his attack.

From behind Thane's makeshift cover he launched a cascade of throws, pulls, reaves; anything to try and cause damage to Mark. This was no longer a simply sparring session; they were both out for blood. While the volley Thane sent looked impressive and had convinced some of the braver onlookers to take a step back, Mark was not fazed. The wild assault barley touched him and his barriers absorbed any that came close. He could sense Thane was panicked and took the opportunity to look around for something larger to hurl in his direction.

Mark's eyes rested on the breakfast counter, a long steel bench with a Perspex guard covered in all manner of food. Mark pulse with biotic energy and closed his eyes, focusing his anger on the counter. He slowly brought his arms up and strained against the sheer weight of the object he was trying to move. The sounds of metal rending and tearing alerted any students near it of what was happening and they quickly dived for cover, trying to get as far away as possible from the creaking bench. With one last almighty heave Mark tore the Bench from the floor and suspended it in mid air. Wires snapped and sparked, whipping back and forth as the electrics were torn away from their bases. The steel construction swung around in the air causing even more students to dive to the floor to avoid injury as Mark brought the counter in line with Thane.

"Thane look out!"

It was Lindsey's voice that called out to Thane; he looked over to her to see a large hand roughly placed over her mouth to silence her warning but it had served its purpose. Thane's eyes widened at the destruction he saw. Sparks were cascading to the floor from the counter, which matched the fountain of yellow light coming from hole in the living area floor. Thane gawked at the counter hovering in mid air, astonished that Mark had the ability to hold something so big. His astonishment however turned to fear as the counter flew towards him at break neck speed. Thane thought fast and leapt out the side of his cover, rolling and skidding across the floor as the counter splintered through the table and carried on into the wall on the far side of the room with a resounding thud. The impact left an enormous dent and sent sparks and shrapnel into the air like a deadly rain.

Thane regained his composure in time to see another table flying towards him with deadly intent. Instead of stopping it this time though Thane countered with a table of his own, colliding the two in mid air in a crumpled mess. Prepared for another assault, Thane reached out with his mind for something large and remembered a vending machine standing by the door. He whirled around and clasped onto the metal box, hoisting it upwards with a waterfall of sparks in its wake. The lights inside flickered on and off before the object was cast across the room in Marks direction.

Slow he might have been, but Mark still managed to un-gracefully collapse to the floor as the vending machine flew at his head. Mark looked up at Thane, he could see the exhaustion is his eyes and the physical strain the biotic battle had been on him. Mark picked his moment and ran at Thane, yelling obscenities and cursing as he did.

"I WARNED YOU!"

Mark bridged the gap between them quicker than a normal man of his size would be able to but with the help of his biotics he practically flew at Thane, fist raised above his head, ready to finish the fight once and for all. Mark's right arm arc across his body with his full weight behind it, It was a biotically enhanced punch that could down a Krogan. But all the power came at a cost, his attack was easy to predict and Thane was just able to duck under his feral attack, Mark's fist brushing past Thanes hair as he dropped out of danger.

"It ends now." Thane thought to himself.

Thane closed his eyes once more, his mind suddenly free of the anger he had felt. There was only one thing on his mind now, Kat. The girl he was fighting for who wasn't even aware this was going on.

Thane opened his eyes again and his focused his remaining biotic energy into his clenched fist. He brought it upwards, impacting squarely into Marks midriff with the satisfying crack of broken ribs. The force of the punch pushed Mark off his feet and into the air, flying backwards a few feet and colliding with the floor. He lay unconscious and panting in a crumpled heap. The room was completely silent.

"Move."

Thane only needed to say one word and an isle immediately opened up for him in the remaining crowd that hadn't run or ducked for cover. Thane couldn't tell if it was the hundreds of people staring at him or the injuries he had received that made his head pound but he didn't care. All he wanted was to get away from them.

Thane just about managed to stagger out of the living area and ascend the stairs back to his room. His jaw throbbed and ached due to the large cut across it, his eye was swollen and purple, his right hand was bloody and badly bruised from breaking Mark's ribs and his whole left side hurt from the impact force of Mark's biotic attacks. Thane's vision was blurry as he approached his room, stumbling against his injuries. He clasped the door handle and stepped through the doorway and collapsed onto his bed. His head flew and the room span. Thane's eyes flickered shut and he passed out.


	9. Chapter 9: I Promise

****_ Authors notes: Mass Effect is the property of BioWare_

* * *

**Chapter 9: I Promise**

A thunderous banging stirred Thane from his dreams, the black void had taken him within seconds of entering his room and he found himself collapsed on his bed, lying spread eagle across the duvet. The banging on his dorm door was quickly joined by the rhythmic hammering inside his aching head as he remember the fight he had had moments before. His head felt like it had been pulled under a truck and his body ached in places he didn't know could. With a mumble Thane pulled himself out of bed and swore quietly at the pain in his legs from standing up, his head span and he felt the sensation to throw up but fought it off and composed himself. Steadily, gingerly he edged towards the door to see who had disturbed his peaceful slumber.

Thane twisted the lock on the inside of the door and it instantly burst open, staggering Thane backwards in surprise as Kat rushed into the dark room. She looked at him horrified for a second before anger's red face began to play with her expression.

"Do you know how long I was fucking knocking for?" She asked expecting no reply, Thane still opened his mouth to try and defend himself but Kat spoke straight through his objections.

"What were you even doing? Clearly it wasn't healing yourself." Kat looked Thane up and down before continuing. "There's this brilliant thing in the universe now called medi-gel! Means you don't have to suffer in pain you idiot."

Kat blew her fringe out of her face in a huff and stormed over to the sofa swinging her arms by her sides like she was on a mission. She forcefully sat down on the sofa and crossed her right leg over her left, folding her arms across her waist. Her face was easy to read, screwed up bridge, narrowed eyes, taught lips. Kat was clearly angry with Thane.

He closed the door that Kat had left ajar with her flamboyant entrance and hobbled over to the area she was sitting.

"Sorry I've pissed you off," Thane's sarcasm was met with a cutting stare from Kat. "But I'll have you know that I have been unconscious since I got in so I haven't actually had time to make my self look better for you."

Kat's face changed from pure, unbridled rage to an expression likable to a worried child who's lost their mother.

"You were passed out this whole time?" Her voice had an undertone of fear and it surprised Thane.

"Well yeah, what it's not been that long has it?" Thane realized that with the out of the ordinary wake-up call he had forgotten to check the time.

"Thane it's ten in the evening."

Thane raised an eyebrow accusingly at Kat, it couldn't be ten already, the fight had only just happened. He reached for his bedside table and grabbed his alarm, sure enough Kat had been right and it was in fact ten o'clock. Thane stood confused and speechless, he had been passed out for just under twelve hours without realizing it. That was basically a whole day.

"How can it be ten already? I swear I walked in about 10 minutes ago."

"If you've been passed out for that long then you are more badly hurt than I thought. Come on sit down. I'll go get the medi-gel." Kat spoke softly now, her voice still fraught with worry but she had clamed down. Gracefully she stood up and walked into the bathroom as Thane followed her orders and fell into the sofa. Taking the weight off Thane's left side was an instant relief to him and he relaxed once more, he would have drifted back into sleep had it not been for Kat sitting down gently next to him.

"Jesus, Mark gave you a right beating didn't he?" Kat laughed but he voice remained worried and frail as she opened the medi-gel's container.

"How do you know what happened?" Thane asked.

"You think I wouldn't find out? Rick, Steve and that Lindsey girl were all sitting outside your room, But they just sorta looked at me, smiled and then left. Vicky told me what happened."

Thane was suddenly struck with horror.

"Shit." He though. "What had Vicky told her? What if she told Kat what I'd said? I knew Vicky was a bitch." Thane quickly shook away his shocked expression and turned to face Kat who was still fumbling with the container.

"What did Vicky tell you happened?"

"She told me that Mark and some kid had a fight in the living area and that Mark was now in the academy hospital with some broken bones. She wasn't much help on the details though, apparently when the fight had finished one of Mark's friends had yelled at everyone there telling them that if word got out who it was the gossip wouldn't live long enough to regret it. It definitely worked; no one wants to talk about it and none of the teachers know who did it, you got off clean it seems."

"How do you know it was me that did it then?" Thane asked but continued to explain himself after a taunting, amused look from Kat. "Ok ignore the battle scars. Why did you come knock on my door?"

Kat looked down for a second her eyes, while still as bright blue as always, seemed to be merely a mask.

"Mark told me when he woke up." Her voice was quiet and distant, more so than before.

"He said that you two had a fight and had destroyed the living area. He remembered charging at you and then waking up in the hospital."

Thane smirked and let out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Faint wisps of anger crept back into Kats voice.

"So he doesn't remember me knocking him out then? What a surprise." Thane could have sworn he saw the briefest hint of a smile appear on Kat's face but if he did it quickly left again.

"Don't sound so smug ok, from the state of you he was pretty close to taking you down with him." Kat applied the first dollop of medi-gel to the large cut on Thane's chin which drew a sharp inhale from him.

"Point taken." Winced Thane as the medicine started its magic. The skin on his chin started to reform and join together, slowly at first but speeding up as the gel took effect. Within no time the only remnants of the wound ever being there was a thin white line across the base of Thanes chin.

"Alright now what else is wrong with you? You weren't walking right and if my biology knowledge is correct your chin doesn't have much to do with movement so where else are you hurt?"

Kat's caring and slightly sarcastic tone warmed Thanes heart, it was nice to have a good friend take care of him after the ordeal of the morning.

"Uhh yeah I am hurt but that's fine I can do it now." Thane moved to take the medi-gel from Kat's hands and she snatched it back out of his reach.

"Not a chance. You've won a fight; you've proved your manly and shit now let me help you." Kat's voice sounded determined but still Thane insisted.

"Honestly I'm fine, I can handle it, just give me the-"

"Thane." Kat's voice was now deadly serious. "You know me, how often do I back down from thing?" She paused a second for effect.

"Exactly, now stop trying to be a macho dickhead and let me help."

Thane sighed. The pink haired biotic very rarely, if ever, backed down from an argument and he could tell that today was not one of those rare occasions.

"Ok ok, if there really isn't anyway to stop you my left side is giving me some problems."

"You mean here?" Kat reached out and placed her hand on the left side of Thane's chest, bringing with it a rush of pain and a reaction to move away from Kat.

"Shit sorry. I didn't think it was that bad." Kat's voice was shocked and she looked down at her lap, retracting her hand back towards herself. She sounded shy and guilty. The worry that had been absent had returned with full force. Thane saw her reaction to his pain and felt bad; he didn't want her feeling guilty because of him so tried to put her at ease.

"No it's ok, was just shock."

Kat's eyes met Thane's and he saw the guilt flicker and then disappear from her eyes. The smallest of smiles appeared on Kat's face and her body posture relaxed again.

"Ok, I'll warn you next time. Ok take your top off."

"I- I'm sorry what now?" Thane's eyes were wide and he stumbled with his inquiry as it rushed out of his mouth.

"Well yeah I can't apply medi-gel through clothes can I? This stuffs good but not THAT good."

Kat had a good point and Thane knew she was right. Then why was he nervous? It wasn't like Thane was ashamed of his body; he had taken his top off already at UBA to go swimming but this time was different. It was just Kat now and she was definitely going to be looking at his body. Thane suddenly wished he had done more exercise and worked out more, he was nothing compared to Mark to put it kindly. Thane took one final look into Kat's brilliant blue eyes, saw that she was serious and sighed; slowly he took of his shirt. Thane winced as he raised his arms above his head and grimaced. Eventually he was able to work his way out of the tight T-shirt and threw it to the floor beside the sofa. Without meeting Kat's eyes he turned his left side to her and looked away.

* * *

Kat went to help Thane remove his top when she saw he was having trouble but something held her hand back. Her eyes looked up and down his body while he took of his t-shirt, gazing at his now bare upper body. She found herself staring at him. Thane was not covered in muscle like Mark was but his body was clearly defined. Kat was reminded of the first time she had met Thane down in the practice area and just like then, her stomach fluttered slightly at the sight of him. Now there was not piece of clothing on his upper body Kat could see his toned chest and the faint outline of abs. Her eyes grew wide and betrayed her surprise, she knew Thane wasn't unfit but she didn't expect him to have a good body. His arms took her attention next; Thane's elbows were on his knees and his hands interlocked with each other in front of him, arching his back slightly. The posture he was in tensed his arms slightly and the definite shapes of bicep muscles were present. Kat drew in breath almost silently as she stared over Thane like a schoolgirl before coming to her senses.

Kat took some of the medi-gel in her hand and cleared her throat.

"I- I'm going to touch you again now… are you ok with that?"

"Yeah sure." Was the only answer she got. Thane appeared to be far more interested in the wall on the opposite side of the room. Kat noticed Thane's face looked red and flush but she concluded that it must have been a medi-gel side effect and carried on.

She slowly and gently placed a shaking finger on the bruised side of Thane's chest. This drew an instant reaction from him as his body flinched away from her touch as if it were ice. Kat herself flinched away, surprised by the sudden movement, It dawned on her how silent the room was at that moment. She again went to touch the bruise, this time without a negative reaction from Thane; only a barely audible gasp crawled out of his mouth due to the gel. Kat now held her palm flat against Thane's side and began to slowly rub the gel into his injured chest. She had to suppress a sigh as she ran her hand over his side, from his firm pec muscles down to his toned abs. She had never expected Thane to be like this under the hoodie.

Kat caressed and massaged Thane long after the medi-gel had been rubbed in, she continued to gentle run her fingertips over his body without even thinking until Thane turned around to look at her. His blue eyes connected with Kat's crystal-ice blue ones and froze her in place.

"Thanks. That feels a lot better now." Thane spoke with a soft, relaxed voice like he had just woken up from a peaceful dream. He was smiling and it lit up his face. Kat smiled back in an almost trance like state, she was still in shock from seeing Thane's body for the first time, toned and smooth like she could never have imagined.

* * *

Thane could still feel Kat's petite fingers lingering on his chest after he thanked her. He couldn't lie to himself. He had loved Kat caressing his body. Once he took his shirt of he was nervous she would barely want to touch him or worse change her mind and give him the gel, she was used to Mark the tank after all. But she didn't she had gently, almost tenderly healed him with her slender fingers. Each time she touched him his skin would prickle as tiny biotic charged passed between them, dancing and faintly glowing in the dimly lit room.

Thane wished he could have stayed with Kat massaging him for hours but the boring, logical part of his brain stepped in and grounded his dreams.

"Remember Thane," The dull voice began. "She has a boyfriend, and she's helping you out as a friend, don't get sucked into that vortex again, you only just crawled out last time."

Thane cursed his inner self and bowed to its long term reasoning over his short term wants. Reluctantly he turned fully around so Kat's hands slid off his side and onto the sofa. His chest felt suddenly colder. Kat's expression had flicked to a shy girl and she had broken eyes contact with Thane as he turned around. Her stare followed her own hands and stopped where they rested, she refused to meet Thane's eyes again.

"Umm so yeah… thanks for doing that Kat. My chest feels a lot better now, so does my face." Thane lifted a hand and pointed to the thin line running along his chin. Kat didn't look up.

The motion of pointing to his own face made Thane winced loudly and he turned his hand around so his palm was facing away from him. He had forgotten that his hand had become injured in the fight and his knuckles were badly bruised and cut. This made Kat look up.

She held her hand over her mouth and gasped at Thanes knuckles, a slight over reaction he thought as it was just superficial. Kat quickly grabbed his hand and pulled it towards her, followed by the rest of Thane. She looked up from the injured hand and into his eyes, a faint ember of anger re-igniting in her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were still hurt?" Her voice sounded more upset than angry to Thane, her eyes and expression was just for show.

"I honestly didn't even remember till now, sorry."

"You should be." Kat mumbled as she rummaged around for the container and applied more medi-gel to his knuckles.

Her hands rubbed the gel over his wounds and carefully massaged it in to start the healing process but she didn't stop. Her fingers continued gliding their way over his hands, tracing his veins and circling his palm as she turn his hand over. She flipped his hand back so his knuckles faced up and slid her own hand under his, gently placing their palms together.

Thane was now staring wide eyes at their hands, his face was blank and he was speechless. The room was as silent as a burial ground but he had nothing to break through the grave with. Not even a thought stirred in his mind. Thane could only stare, awestruck at Kat's actions. She squeezed his hand and looked up towards him, Thane saw he ice blue eyes glint in the pale light of the room, her pink hair shimmer as her head moved and her full lips parted. She was so beautiful.

Suddenly Thane felt her free hand on the back of his neck and she brought their lips together before he could even think. Kat's lips were soft like last time and she tasted sweet. Her tongue parted Thane's lips and he returned the gesture, letting their tongues explore each other's mouths. Thane's eyes were closed but he didn't need sight, the passion in Kat was evident in the way she pulled herself into his kiss. Thane heard, no felt the tiniest of moans from Kat's throat as their kiss continued, their tongues flicking past and caressing each other. Thane could barely believe it. This is how he wanted his first kiss with Kat to be, not the one after the party where they had basically bumped lips and then Kat had cried and felt guilty over Mark.

Mark.

How could Thane have been so stupid? He had gotten caught up in the moment again, caught up in Kat's wonderful eyes. How could he do this again? No how could SHE do this again. Thane was certain Kat knew how he felt for her, was this all just some big game for her? A rising sea of anger drowned the sheer joy Thane had been feeling seconds earlier. He broke off the kiss and stood up, forcing a surprised Kat away from him.

"You can't keep doing this shit to me Kat!"

The un-usual outburst from Thane shook Kat and she lost whatever thought she had in her head. All she could do was stammer.

"Wh- What do you- What?"

"You can't keep playing with my head ok? First you come to my room crying and kiss me, and then you completely blow me off without even a second thought about my feelings. I make friends with you again and decide to force down how I feel and then you do this shit? Do you even like me Kat or do you just like the attention you get? You have a boyfriend Kat and I wont let you keep playing with my feelings anymore, I just can't take it."

Kat's mouth moved but no words came out, she looked choked up and on the verge of tears, her ice blue eyes now pooled with water but she quickly blinked it away as best she could. Her head dropped and she stared down into her lap, her words were forced and reverberated around the soundless room like a tiny echo.

"I'm sorry."

Thane was disheartened at Kat's sadness but his anger at being played like a game still burned strong. He contemplated giving in to his feelings for Kat but couldn't bring himself to get hurt by her again. He turned his back to her and walked towards the bathroom.

"I'm going to have a shower, you can let yourself out if you want."

* * *

Thane left the warm, calming embrace of the shower twenty minutes later and dried himself off in front of the bathroom mirror. He looked at his reflection and sighed. Had he been too harsh on Kat?

"No." Replied the voice in his head, ever so slightly shaken. "It's better this way. Now you can finally stop being hung up on her."

"But did you really have to be that blunt with her?" Thane knew the answer to his own question. All the anger from the morning had still been hanging around his mind like a plague and he had snapped at Kat. She didn't deserve to be treated like that but he got carried away. Thane cursed his own temper and felt a wave of guilt crash over his body. He sighed again before putting on some clothes and exiting the bathroom. What he saw shocked him to his very core.

Kat was still there.

She hadn't moved from the spot he had left her. Kat was still seated on Thane's sofa only now she held her head in her hands. Thane could hear her quiet cries and see her body shaking from across the room. Any remaining anger or malice he felt towards Kat evaporated the instant he set eyes on her. Suddenly his only thought and want was to stop Kat crying, stop what he had done. Thane felt a knot in his stomach at that thought; he hated the fact that he had made her cry.

Thane paced over to where the crying biotic sat and slowly took a seat next to her. He placed one hand on her back and slowly rubbed between Kat's shoulder blades. She was shaking like she had been out in the cold for hours and her cries that had once been quiet turned into sobs that filled the room as Thane touched her. He was lost for words for a brief second but regained his composure and tried to comfort his pink haired friend.

"Kat I'm sorry I yelled at you, you should never have be treated like that. I was just angry, I didn't mean it." Thane didn't care about his own pride at that moment, he just wanted to see Kat happy, and if sabotaging his own morals was what it took, he was going to do it.

"No. You were right." Kat managed to get out through sobs and coughs. She was clearly distraught.

"I'm so so sorry." She continued, trying to force out words through jaded cries. "You were right. Every time I was upset I would come to you because I knew that you liked me and I would feel wanted. It was selfish and cruel just using you till I felt good again. The worst part is that I actually have feelings for you too, I broke up with Mark today Thane"

Thane's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull. What? Had he just heard correct? Kat had broken up with Mark and liked him as well? And he had just yelled at her probably ruining any chance he ever had. Brilliant. Thane felt like the floor below him had fallen away into nothingness.

"Kat if I had know I-"

Kat interrupted him in a quiet, sad tone of voice.

"Please Thane, jut let me speak" Thane didn't want to complicate matters any worse so allowed her to continue.

"All this time I have had feelings for you but I… I can't let myself get close to you, I just can't. If I get close to people I get hurt. Every time I get close something happens and I end up being the one bearing the scars. It's why I was with Mark, because he didn't try to get close, but you. You found a way to get close and it scared me."

Kat paused for a few seconds to regain her strength and breath deeply. She took he head out of her hands and looked up at Thane before continuing. Her eyes were bloodshot and her checks were red from crying. Her make-up had run down her face and her once neatly kept pink pixie-cut hair was now hanging loosely in no particular style in front of her face.

"Did you ever wonder why I don't like being called Katherine? It's because that was my Mum's name, I was named after her." Kat looked away from Thane and stared at the wall in front of her, her ice blue eyes awash with tears still.

"Mum and I were so close, she was my best friend and I could always count on her for anything, Even if it seemed like the smallest thing to me she would go out of her way to make sure I was alright. Then one day, I woke up and she had just left. No note, no explanation. Nothing. Just like that I was alone and the world seemed so much darker without her."

Thane was horrified to hear about Kat's past. He didn't understand how someone so upbeat and happy could have such a skeleton hidden in their closet. His mind raced with questions for her but he could sense that Kat wasn't done, and as predicted she continued.

"Dad tried his best to fill in for her, taking me all the places I needed to go and trying to talk to me about school and stuff but he had a job to do as well. We started to get close like me and Mum had been and I started to be happy again but then everything went wrong again. Dad's business started loosing money quick and to stop it he got in with some bad people. I never found out who they were but one day banging and yelling coming from our door woke me up. They broke in and just started smashing things and demanding what dad owed them. They threatened to take me if he couldn't pay up within a few days and left."

Thane could see the pain in Kat's eyes. It hurt her re-telling this story, re-living all the memories she had no doubt buried away and tried to forget. But even through the pain and sadness in her voice, Kat carried on.

"After that Dad sent me away to live with his friends Cole and Mel; he didn't think it was safe for me to be with him. A week later I heard on the news that he had been killed in a gang attack. Within a year the two people closest to me had been ripped from me and I felt completely alone. It's odd, having that happen to you changes a person. You don't feel the same as everyone else, how can you with something like that in your past? I felt like a ghost just floating through corridors with everyone else oblivious to my existence."

Kat breathed deeply, shuddering and rasping as she inhaled and sighing as she let out the long over-due breath. She kept her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her.

"Mel and Cole. Those were the names of Dad's friends. I lived with them for two years and we became close. I still felt the loss of my parents heavily on my shoulders but they seemed to lighten the load slightly. I began to sink back into reality again, started to interact with other people."

Kat swallowed and her voice became even quieter.

"Then it happened all over again. They had their own baby and didn't want me around. Suddenly those two years we spent getting close meant nothing and they shipped me off to a boarding school and forgot about me. They never wrote or contacted me; I had ruined their perfect family. The closet thing I had to parents in the world had abandoned me."

Kat finally looked back into Thane's eyes now. Her pale blue eyes were flooded with tears and her lips were quivering.

"That's why I acted like a bitch to you and why I can't get close to you, because I can't take the heartbreak again. I can't risk getting closer to you because I wont be able to stop myself completely falling for you and if something goes wrong I'll be left alone and empty again. I'm so sorry Thane."

Kat couldn't keep going anymore, she had poured her heart out to Thane and it was clear she had nothing left to give. Thane stared down into her crystal blue eyes and silently took in all she had said. How could one individual go though so much in such a short life? Thane understood now why she had acted so strangely, why she had tried so hard to put distance between them after the party. Even with all the madness that had gone on today Thane still found himself admiring Kat's beauty. This was Kat at her very worst, the lowest of the low and she still shone in his eyes. That's when he realized that she didn't need to be scared of him leaving, because he was never going to. In Kat Thane had found an equal, someone he would happily share his worst memories with as well as his happiest moments. She understood him and he understood her. Thane was not going to let this slip through his fingers again.

"Kat." Thane readied himself to chose his words but found they came out easily. "Since I first stepped foot into this academy and saw you, I've known that you were something special. You're fucking fantastic Kat. Each day I find another reason to…" Thane lowered his voice, unsure if he could openly say what he was thinking.

"Another reason to love you. I love you Kat. You're the most beautiful, funny, smart, confident person I have ever met. I know I'm not perfect and I know you are scared but I promise you; if you let me in, I will never, ever abandon you."

Kat starred up at Thane, her eyes fixed in place with his. She opened her mouth to try and speak but no words came out, instead her eyes began to water and tears fell down her cheeks. She clamped her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around Thane, pressing her head into his chest and feeling the warmth of his body against hers. Still teary eyes and crying, she finally spoke.

"I… I want to believe you but… I don't know Thane. I can't be left empty again, I wont let that happen again and I'm not sure if you can-"

Kat was cut off by Thane's hand as he tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. Gently their lips touched, they both closed their eyes and in silence and darkness they were at peace for a brief second. Than broke the kiss and gazed down into Kat's still watery eyes.

"I promise you, as long as I can stand I will be by your side. Trust me Kat, I know that this can work."

There was silence again between to the two. Thane was the most anxious and nervous he had ever been. The universe itself ground to a halt as he awaited Kat's response with baited breath. He dared not think, he dared not breath so as to some way keep the air clear for when Kat spoke. Decades passed them by before Kat responded.

"Ok. If you believe in me then I do too. I've been running for too long from my fears and I don't want to any more. I want to be with you Thane."

Thane thought his heart actually stopped. Not like in the mushy vids he had once watched but that his heart had physically stopped beating from anxiety. Kat's words brought him back into the real world like a car being jump-started. Her words echoed in his head "I want to be with you Thane". Never had Thane ever heard those words before and he had never thought they would be coming out of Kat's mouth. He couldn't help himself; Thane arched his neck and kissed Kat again on the lips, this time more passionately. Thane was lost in the joy rushing through his body like a shot of adrenaline. He felt like leaping up and bouncing off the walls.

Kat broke their kiss and smiled up at Thane. She was smiling properly again, that smile that had hooked Thane many weeks ago and her eyes accompanied her smile showing how happy she truly was. She had finally broken through her mental wall and had allowed herself to be happy with someone again, and not just anyone, with Thane. The boy she had at first spied upon, then befriended and now she lay in his arms, happier than she had ever been.

"I love you too Thane."


End file.
